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A scary scene unfolded in Argentina, global soccer icon Lionel Messi's home nation, when an attempt to take the life of Argentina's vice president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, was caught on camera, which forced the Argentina Football Association to suspend all football matches on Friday after such a threat to national security.
Footage of the incident has surfaced on the internet (viewer discretion is advised).
In recent days, a huge crowd assembled outside Fernandez de Kirchner's home in support of the embattled former President as she seeks to clear her name from charges of defrauding the state. Fernandez de Kirchner was reported to be arriving at her home in the neighborhood of Recoleta, when a man armed with a gun came out of nowhere from the crowd and pointed a gun to her face at point-blank range. The gun was reported to have been loaded with five bullets, but thankfully, the gun failed to fire properly, which saved Fernandez de Kirchner's life.
The gunman, a 35-year old man, had been detained in police custody.
President Alberto Fernandez, in response, declared Friday a national holiday for Argentina, and the Argentina Football Association followed suit with their suspension of games and show of support for Fernandez de Kirchner.
“The Argentinian Football Association expresses its strongest repudiation of what happened with vice president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner,” the AFA said in a statement. “We call on society as a whole, warning that violence of any kind is never the solution.”
Due to the unfortunate incident, three games in Argentina's First Division of soccer were suspended, namely: Patronato vs. Union, Rosario Central vs. Talleres and Lanus vs. Tigre. Games in the lower tiers of soccer in Argentina, including those in the third tier, the reserve league, and the women's championship were also postponed. When someone's life is endangered like this, sports, rightfully so, must take a backseat.