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Narco-Football Is Dead: Celebrating a Colombia Reborn

"I don't talk about mafia people. I know none of those people you are talking about. ... I don't talk about drug trafficking."

Gomez is the former Colombian midfielder better known as "Barrabas." At the 1994 World Cup, before Colombia's group-stage defeat to the United States, their players returned from a pre-match briefing to death threats, saying they'd all be killed if Gomez were to appear in the match.

Then-coach Francisco Maturana bowed to the threat, saying he "couldn't put another's life in danger," according to the Telegraph. Striker Tino Asprilla adds: "We didn't know where those threats were even coming from.