An Argentine court has sentenced a football supporter to seven and a half years in prison for orchestrating a campaign of intimidation against Ángel Di María and his family in an attempt to prevent the former Argentina international from returning to his boyhood club, Rosario Central.
Sergio Di Vanni, 45, was convicted in Rosario on Wednesday after being found guilty of directing threats against the World Cup winner and his relatives in March 2024, when Di María was considering leaving European football to return to Argentina.
At the time, the forward was playing for Portuguese club Benfica but was exploring the possibility of rejoining Rosario Central, where he began his professional career. His proposed return, however, became the target of a violent intimidation campaign linked to the bitter rivalry between Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys.
The two clubs are fierce rivals in Rosario, with Newell’s also known as the childhood club of Argentina captain Lionel Messi.
According to the prosecution, the campaign included gunshots fired near a gated residential community where Di María owned a property and a disturbing delivery to a real estate agency operated by his sister.
The package contained a pig’s head bearing a bullet wound, accompanied by a threatening message directed at the footballer’s family. The threats included a warning against his daughter if he returned to Rosario Central.
Investigators alleged that Di Vanni arranged for individuals to carry out the intimidation in exchange for four million Argentine pesos, estimated at approximately $2,600 in the reports.
The case was also connected to internal power struggles among organised supporters of Newell’s Old Boys, commonly known as ultras. Prosecutors linked the intimidation campaign to a faction seeking to strengthen its position within the club’s supporters’ group.
A 25-year-old woman, Belén Gutiérrez, who was identified by prosecutors as one of those involved, received a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence in June 2026 after reaching a plea agreement. A third suspect remains in pre-trial detention.
Di Vanni’s sentence also covers separate offences associated with his involvement in the supporters’ group.
The threats initially forced Di María to abandon his plans to return to Argentina, with concerns about his family’s safety outweighing his desire to finish his playing career at home.
The winger subsequently reversed that decision and completed his return to Rosario Central in 2025 after spending much of his career in Europe.
His return brought him back to the club where his professional journey began, despite the threats that had previously disrupted his plans.
Di María, who helped Argentina win the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, is also a Copa América winner and one of the country’s most celebrated footballers of his generation.
The case highlights the dangers posed by football-related intimidation and the influence that organised supporter factions can exert beyond the terraces. In this instance, the alleged campaign went beyond hostility towards a rival club, targeting a player’s family in an attempt to influence his professional decision.
The court’s ruling brings a significant development in a case that threatened to prevent one of Argentina’s most recognisable footballers from returning to his hometown club.
The sentencing was reported by AFP and published by Punch Newspapers on October 29, 2026.
