An Argentine court sentenced a football fan to seven and a half years in prison on Wednesday. This happened after the fan threatened Angel Di Maria in 2024. The aim was to stop the World Cup winner from returning to Argentina as he ended his career.
Sergio Di Vanni, 45, was found guilty by a court in Rosario. He ordered intimidation against Di Maria’s family to keep the player from coming back to play for a rival team. At that time, Di Maria was with Benfica in March 2024, but he was thinking about returning to his childhood club Rosario Central. He did complete that move in 2025.
Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys are the main teams in Rosario and are big rivals. Lionel Messi played for Newell’s when he was younger. The threats against Di Maria included gunshots fired near a gated community where he has a property. There was also a pig's head left outside an estate agency owned by his sister. This head had a bullet wound and came with a message threatening his daughter.
In June, a 25-year-old woman named Belen Gutierrez was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. She was identified by prosecutors as one of the people involved and had a plea agreement. Another suspect is still in pre-trial detention. Prosecutors claimed the two did these threats for four million pesos, which is about $2,600.
The prosecution said the intimidation was part of a power struggle within Newell’s ultras. Di Vanni’s sentence also included other crimes linked to his role in the supporters’ group. After the threats, Di Maria first decided not to return to Argentina to protect his family.
But he later changed his mind. Now 38, Di Maria has played for Rosario Central for the last two seasons. He helped the club win the Argentine title at the end of 2025.
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