Former referee told Popeye’s threat before a Nacional match in the...

During much of the 80s and early 90s, Colombian soccer was closely linked to criminal organizations and drug trafficking: several clubs, and of the most important, were ‘sponsored’ by very influential capos.

Now, several decades later, that ‘relationship’ is once again at the center of the controversy, after some statements made by former Argentine referee Carlos Espósito in which he talks about Atlético Nacional, the 1989 Copa Libertadores (that the ‘purslane’ team won) and the Medellín Cartel.(You may be interested: Drug trafficking in Colombian soccer).

What happened?

In a talk with the program ‘A good moment, from’ Radio La Red ‘, from Argentina, the former judge referred to a situation he experienced in Medellín, city ​​where he arrived to deliver justice in the second leg of the Libertadores 89 semifinals between Nacional and Danubio, from Uruguay.

The match took place on May 17, 1989 and the teams arrived with a score of 0-0 (first leg).

(We recommend: The ‘plays’ that footballers have made with the mafia and drug trafficking).

Days before, Espósito and his refereeing body (assistants Juan Bava and Abel Gnecco) arrived in the capital of Antioquia and at that very moment their experience began.

“We arrived in Medellín, they put us on a car to take us to the hotel and, during the journey, the people they were with told us about the places where they had thrown the bodies of referees who had been killed for not accepting bribes”, Esposito narrated on the radio station.

(You may be interested: This is how the ‘Mexican’ took Millonarios).

Later, he referred to his direct encounter with ‘Popeye’, one of Pablo Escobar’s hitmen.

“‘Popeye’ and other thugs broke into my room at the hotel, all carrying machine guns. They put us a suitcase with 250,000 dollars, but we rejected it. So they left and told us: ‘You already know what to do,’ “he added.

Esposito said that, during his stay, they were watched by “gangsters” 24 hours, “to intimidate us.”

“It was very difficult, we never slept. We also had to change our return flight, to leave Medellín for Bogotá the same night of the game,” he said.

(Also read: The story of how the Santa Fe was used to launder money from the mafia).

Espósito also recalled that on that trip to the Colombian capital there was the Danubio team and that the president of the club “asked me if we had had a bad time, insinuating that they too had been threatened.”

“Luckily, Nacional won that game 6-0. If not, I don’t know what would have happened”, the ex-referee closed.

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Conocíamos historias del Cártel de Medellín y el fútbol. Nunca con tanto detalle como la que Carlos Espósito, gran árbitro argentino, contó hoy en Un Buen Momento (@radiolared) sobre el apriete narco antes de un partido por #Libertadores. Va en 2 partes. Sencillamente IMPERDIBLE. pic.twitter.com/v9GpkZhG22

— VarskySports (@VarskySports) October 15, 2020

After going to the final, the Colombian team ended up becoming champion by beating Olimpia, from Paraguay in the final (2-2, aggregate score. 5-4, on penalties).

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