The security authorities of the United States, in coordination between the FBI and the International Police Cooperation Center (Ipcc), managed to thwart various threats and attacks aimed at prominent figures such as Lionel Messi at the past World Cup held in North America.
According to official reports released three weeks after the conclusion of the World Cup —marked by Spain’s title and Argentina’s runner-up position—, Lionel Messi was the main target of the intimidations, which included direct threats of suicide attacks.
Attempts to assassinate Lionel Messi
Security alerts around the Argentine captain began to be recorded from the group stage. Prior to the match between the Argentina and Jordan teams, authorities received a call at Dallas airport where an individual threatened to enter the stadium with two companions equipped with homemade bombs and an AR-15 rifle, explicitly mentioning the goal of attacking Messi’s life.
The situation repeated before the round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt. A suspect posted on his social media that he planned to enter Atlanta Stadium with four explosive devices attached to his body to detonate them against the Argentine player, in addition to threatening police and other members of both teams.
“I am going to enter Atlanta Stadium and blow up Messi with four bombs attached to my body”, wrote the suspect on social media.
During the course of that same match, the police responded to a report about three alleged bombs located in the venue’s trash bins. After a thorough search with explosive detection dogs, the authorities determined it was a false alarm.
Police reports indicate that the volume of threats against the footballer was motivated by unfounded accusations on social media about alleged sports favoritism.
Incidents at the Portugal camp
The police report also details security breaches related to the environment of Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fifa alerted the FBI about the presence of a suspicious individual requesting confidential information at the Portugal team’s concentration hotel. Two days after the notification, Houston police located and arrested the subject inside the hotel establishment.
A similar event occurred in Toronto, where another man was detained after sneaking into an elevator with Cristiano Ronaldo. After being intercepted by security forces, the individual claimed his only intention was to get a photo with the athlete.
The scope of the threats also affected the tournament referees. French central referee François Letexier and the VAR official, Willy Delajod, were targets of cyberbullying after their performance in the match between Argentina and Egypt. Letexier received more than 6,000 hate messages and death threats on his personal WhatsApp number, which forced French authorities to deploy a police protection scheme at the residences of both referees and their families.
Despite the multiple reports and alert calls recorded throughout the competition, the actions of intelligence and security agencies allowed the full development of the sports schedule without any physical attack materializing.
This content was rewritten with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
