The death of the Colombian international footballer Andreas Escobar remains one of sport's best-known cautionary tales of when fanaticism goes too far. Escobar's infamy came from when he scored an own goal that condemned Colombia to a 2-1 defeat to the hosts. Just 10 days later when Escobar was shamefully shot dead in his home town of Medellin, it is not clear whether the murderer was one of the gambling syndicates who had bet large amounts of money on Colombia to qualify for the second round.


The death of the Colombian international footballer Andreas Escobar remains one of sport's best-known cautionary tales of when fanaticism goes too far. In historical record, Pele himself had placed the South Americans among the favourites for the worldcup tournament. So it is not wrong if Colombia have expectations going into the 1994 World Cup in the USA were sky-high.
No-one expected the hosts to cause them any problems in the second group match. But in front of 93,000 fans in California's Rose Bowl, Colombia froze and disaster struck. Escobar's infamy came from an incident at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, when he scored an own goal that condemned Colombia to a 2-1 defeat to the hosts - knocking his side out of the tournament. Started from stretching to cut out a cross from U.S. midfielder John Harkes, he deflected the ball into his own net in the second match of Group A. before that Colombia having already lost to Romania, As a result they were out of the World Cup Colombia and was eliminated from the tournament in the first round and. The goal caused outrage back home in Colombia, not least because the defeat came against bitter rivals the USA, but no one could have predicted what happened next.
But the tears of disappoinment turned to ones of tragedy just 10 days later when Escobar was shamefully shot dead in his home town of Medellin. When out drinking with friends at a bar in Medellin, Escobar was confronted outside by a Colombian football fan who shot him 12 times in an apparent 'revenge' attack for the own goal Escobar scored. The killer shouted "Goal!" (mimicking South American sporting commentators for their calls after a goal is scored) for each of the 12 bullets fired. It is not clear whether the murderer was one of the gambling syndicates who had bet large amounts of money on Colombia to qualify for the second round. The BBC issued an apology the following day after its pundit Alan Hansen commented on another match that "the Argentine defender wants shooting for a mistake like that.
Escobar's funeral was attended by 120,000 people and a statue was built in his honour at Atlético Nacional's stadium, the Estadio Atanasio Girardot. Escobar was a defender for Colombia in the World Cup in 1990 and 1994. His jersey number was 2, and was known by the nicknames "El Caballero del Futbol" ("The Gentleman of Football" or "Football's Knight") and "The Immortal Number 2". In his club career, he played for Medellín side Atlético Nacional and Swiss side Young Boys Bern.