BOGOTÁ - Defender William Tesillo confirmed on Monday the complaint made by his wife about threats against him and his family for missing the fifth penalty that led to Colombia's elimination against Chile in the quarter-finals of the Copa América.
The team led by Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz arrived in Brazil as one of the favorites to win the title, something they have only achieved once, as hosts in 2001. Instead, they lost 5-4 in the penalty shootout on Friday after a 0-0 draw in the 90 minutes of regulation time.
Daniela Mejía, Tesillo's wife, revealed the death threats on Sunday through social media.
"Yes, it's true. They wrote to my wife and she posted it. And they wrote to me as well, but I haven't posted anything yet. But well, we're with God," the footballer said in the digital edition of El País de Cali newspaper.
Tesillo returned on Saturday with the team, after the elimination in Sao Paulo that enraged many fans.
"These have been difficult days," said Mejía, who is still in Brazil and is preparing to travel to Mexico while the footballer remains in Colombia.
"I can't say where he is, I can only say that the authorities are very attentive to the case and he already has the security that the police are providing him," Mejía stressed on Monday afternoon in the digital edition of El País de Cali newspaper. The couple has three children, aged 12, 3, and two months.
Tesillo played in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and made his debut with the national team in a friendly match against Brazil in January 2017, which Colombia lost 1-0.
"My husband is very calm, but he has been very afraid... I must say that things will not be the same when we return to Colombia, we won't be able to visit my family in Armenia –where I'm from– nor visit my husband's father in Barranquilla," she said.
Tesillo's wife revealed some of the threats on her Instagram account and shared one that referred to the murder of Andrés Escobar, as well as others that urged to kill Tesillo, who has been playing for León de México club since last season.
Escobar, also a defender, scored an own goal in the match that Colombia lost 2-1 against the United States in the group stage of the 1994 World Cup, which led to the team's elimination. The footballer was shot dead while leaving a nightclub in Medellín on July 2nd of that year, allegedly by a hitman hired by drug traffickers and bettors.
"It's very sad to see people with such poor and sad hearts who want to threaten my husband, but we can't turn our backs on them, in the end all we want is for my husband to be calm and protect his life, he is an extraordinary human being," Mejía emphasized.
On his part, the player's father, also named William, said: "we have to remember that this is football and you can win or lose."