A U.S. police report has revealed the security threats that both the FBI and the IPCC (International Police Cooperation Center) had to deal with and neutralize during the World Cup won by Spain. Among them was a suicide attack threat targeting Leo Messi, who received the highest number of threats throughout the tournament.
Before the Argentina vs. Jordan group-stage match, a man called Dallas airport and threatened to storm the stadium with two other people carrying homemade bombs and an AR-15 rifle, explicitly mentioning Messi as their target.
The threats were repeated ahead of the Argentina vs. Egypt round-of-16 match. “I’m going to enter Atlanta Stadium and blow Messi up with four bombs strapped to my body,” one of the suspects wrote on social media. During the same match, police received another call claiming that three bombs had been placed inside several trash bins in the stands. It turned out to be a false alarm after the entire stadium was searched by bomb-sniffing dogs.
Security breaches involving Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo was also involved in a security incident at Portugal’s team hotel. According to the police report, FIFA alerted the FBI to the presence of “a suspicious man” who was asking for “details” about Cristiano’s accommodation. Two days later, Houston police located and arrested the same man inside the hotel where the Portuguese national team was staying. Another individual was arrested in Toronto after a similar incident, when he tried to get into an elevator alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, claiming that he only wanted a selfie with CR7.
6,000 hate messages
The referees also faced death threats. French referee François Letexier received more than 6,000 hateful messages on his personal WhatsApp account after officiating the controversial Argentina-Egypt match. The same thing happened to the VAR referee for that game, Willy Delajod. Because of the threats, security had to be increased around their homes and families in France.
