Argentine Court Jails Football Fan for 7½ Years Over Threats Against Angel Di Maria’s Family

An Argentine court has sentenced a football supporter to seven and a half years in prison for threatening the family of World Cup winner Angel Di Maria in an attempt to prevent the former Argentina international from returning to his home country to play for his boyhood club.

The court in Rosario found 45-year-old Sergio Di Vanni guilty of ordering acts of intimidation against Di Maria’s family in March 2024. Prosecutors said the threats were intended to discourage the footballer from leaving his overseas career to join Rosario Central, one of the city’s major clubs.

At the time of the incident, Di Maria was playing for Portuguese side Benfica but was considering a return to Rosario Central. The move eventually happened in 2025, bringing the former Argentina international back to the club where his football journey began.

Rosario Central has a fierce rivalry with Newell’s Old Boys, the club supported during his childhood by fellow Argentine football star Lionel Messi. The rivalry between the two Rosario clubs was cited in the case as part of the wider context surrounding the threats.

The intimidation campaign included gunshots fired near a gated community where Di Maria owns a property. In another incident, a pig’s head bearing a bullet wound was reportedly left outside an estate agency run by his sister, accompanied by a message threatening his daughter.

A second suspect, 25-year-old Belen Gutierrez, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in June after reaching a plea agreement. Prosecutors identified her as one of the people involved in carrying out the threats. A third suspect remains in pre-trial detention.

According to prosecutors, the threats were allegedly carried out in exchange for four million Argentine pesos, estimated in the report at about $2,600. The prosecution also linked the intimidation campaign to an internal power struggle within Newell’s Old Boys’ organised supporters’ group, commonly known as its ultras. Di Vanni’s sentence also covered separate offences connected to his involvement in the group.

Following the threats, Di Maria initially abandoned his plans to return to Argentina, citing concerns for his family’s safety. He eventually changed his mind and returned to Rosario Central in 2025.

Now 38, Di Maria has spent the past two seasons at the club and helped Rosario Central win the Argentine title at the end of 2025. The court’s ruling marks a significant development in the case involving threats intended to influence the footballer’s career decision through intimidation of his family.