An Argentine football supporter has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for his role in a campaign of threats against the family of World Cup winner Ángel Di María, aimed at preventing the footballer from returning to his boyhood club, Rosario Central.
Sergio Di Vanni, 45, was convicted by a court in Rosario on Wednesday over intimidation incidents that occurred in March 2024, when Di María was considering leaving Portuguese side Benfica to return to Argentina.
Di María’s proposed return had sparked tensions because Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys, two major clubs in the city, are fierce rivals.
The threats against the footballer’s family included gunshots fired near a gated community where his relatives lived. In a separate incident, a box containing a pig’s head with a bullet lodged in it was left outside a property agency operated by his sister. A threatening message was also reportedly directed at his daughter.
Investigators linked the intimidation campaign to a power struggle within a faction of Newell’s Old Boys’ organized supporters, who allegedly sought to prevent Di María from joining their rivals.
Prosecutors alleged that those involved were paid four million Argentine pesos to carry out the threats.
Di Vanni’s sentence also covers his involvement in a criminal association linked to the supporters’ group and a separate shooting incident in July 2024 in which a man sustained a gunshot wound to his leg.
Another suspect, Belén Gutiérrez, 25, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in June after reaching a plea agreement over her involvement in the intimidation campaign. A third suspect remains in pre-trial detention.
The threats initially forced Di María to abandon his plans to return to Argentina because of concerns for his family’s safety.
However, the former Argentina international eventually completed his return to Rosario Central in 2025, bringing an end to years spent playing for clubs in Europe.
The case has drawn attention to the influence of organized football supporter groups and the use of intimidation in disputes surrounding Argentina’s fiercely competitive club football culture.
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