Death Threats Force World Cup Scorer Jáminton Campaz Into Hiding

Colombia forward Jáminton Campaz has gone into hiding and missed his scheduled flight home from the World Cup after he and his family received death threats over a missed chance in extra time against Switzerland, just days after he calmly converted his own penalty in the shootout that Colombia ultimately lost 4-3.

The Colombian Football Federation has called on the country's Attorney General's office to take "immediate action" over the threats. The response has inevitably drawn comparisons to the murder of Andrés Escobar after the 1994 World Cup, a case that still hangs over Colombian football more than three decades later.

What happened to Jáminton Campaz after the Switzerland defeat

A cruel inversion of the story

Campaz, 26, blazed a chance over the crossbar during extra time in Colombia's quarter-final against Switzerland. The game went to penalties, where Switzerland won 4-3 to book a place against Argentina, who will now face England for a spot in the final.

What makes the backlash particularly irrational is what happened next. Campaz stepped up in the shootout and scored his penalty. He did not hide from responsibility, he took it, and he still delivered under pressure. That has not stopped him and his family becoming targets since Tuesday's game.

A statement of dignity, not defiance

Campaz was due to fly from Vancouver to Bogotá on Wednesday alongside teammates Davinson Sánchez, James Rodríguez and Juan Fernando Quintero. He did not show up. Reports suggest he may have stayed in the United States or travelled to Argentina, where he plays club football for Rosario Central.

On Thursday, Campaz addressed the threats directly on Instagram rather than staying silent.

"My Colombia, please let us never lose sight of respect. We may hold different views or feel frustration and sadness, but no passion justifies hatred or living in fear."

He went further, acknowledging the shared grief of elimination while refusing to accept the response to it.

"I deeply regret not being able to bring you the joy we all hoped for, but I want you to know that there was never a lack of dedication, commitment, or love for this jersey. I gave everything I had on the pitch, and I would do it a thousand times over for my country."

The federation backed him publicly, framing the threats as a betrayal of what the sport is supposed to represent.

"Football must be a space for unity, respect, and hope, never a stage for hatred, intimidation, or violence."

The shadow of Andrés Escobar and history repeating itself

The 1994 own goal that ended in murder

The comparisons to Escobar are not exaggeration. The defender, once tipped as Franco Baresi's successor at AC Milan, scored an own goal in Colombia's 2-1 group-stage loss to the United States at the 1994 World Cup. Weeks later, he was shot dead in Medellín. His own brother told The Athletic he had pleaded with Escobar not to return home.

"I told Andrés, 'Stay here with all of us and have [wife] Pamela meet you here... He never imagined they were going to do something like that to him."

The murder remains one of football's most infamous tragedies, a moment that forced the sport to confront how fandom, national pride and organised violence could collide with fatal consequences.

A wound that shaped Colombian football's culture

Escobar's death has never fully left Colombian football's collective memory. Every major tournament exit invites the same anxious question: has anything actually changed? Campaz going into hiding, rather than travelling home with his teammates, suggests the fear that shaped Escobar's final days has not disappeared, it has simply found new ways to reach players before they even land.

Online abuse, player safety, and football's unresolved reckoning

Not just Colombia, a global pattern

This is not an isolated Colombian problem. Players across the world have faced racist and violent abuse after missed penalties and costly errors at major tournaments in recent years, much of it delivered instantly through social media rather than delivered in person. The mechanism has changed since 1994, but the underlying culture, treating footballers as acceptable targets for hatred over split-second decisions, has not.

• Escobar was murdered in person weeks after his own goal in 1994.
• Campaz has been threatened online and offline within days of his missed chance in 2026.
• Both cases involve moments of misfortune rather than negligence, yet both triggered disproportionate, violent responses.

What accountability could look like

The Colombian federation's call for "immediate action" from the Attorney General's office will test how seriously threats made online are treated as criminal matters rather than background noise. Realistically, that means identifying and prosecuting individuals behind explicit threats, working with platforms to trace accounts, and providing protection for Campaz and his family until any danger is assessed and neutralised.

Whether that happens with any real urgency will say a lot about how far Colombian football, and football's wider governing bodies, have actually moved since 1994.

What happens next

Campaz's immediate priority is safety, not football. Until Colombian authorities can guarantee protection, he is likely to remain away from Bogotá, potentially returning to Rosario Central duties from Argentina rather than travelling through Colombia directly.

The federation's public statement puts pressure on the Attorney General's office to be seen acting, not just issuing solidarity messages. How quickly, and how visibly, that investigation moves will determine whether this becomes a genuine turning point or another case that fades once the tournament narrative moves on.

For now, Campaz has said what he needed to say himself, thanking the fans who stood by him while making clear that grief over elimination can never justify threats against the players who gave everything trying to prevent it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Jáminton Campaz do in the Switzerland match?
Campaz missed a chance in extra time when Colombia were level with Switzerland in their World Cup quarter-final. The match went to penalties, where Campaz scored his own spot kick, but Switzerland won the shootout 4-3 to eliminate Colombia.

Why has Campaz gone into hiding?
Campaz and his family received death threats after his missed extra-time chance, prompting him to skip his scheduled flight from Vancouver to Bogotá with Colombia teammates. He is believed to have remained in the United States or travelled to Argentina, where he plays for Rosario Central.

How is this connected to Andrés Escobar?
Andrés Escobar was murdered in Medellín in 1994 after scoring an own goal in a World Cup loss to the United States. The death threats against Campaz have drawn direct comparisons because both involve violent backlash against a Colombian player over a single moment in a World Cup match.

What has the Colombian Football Federation said?
The federation issued a statement expressing full solidarity with Campaz, his family and the national team delegation, and called for immediate action from the Attorney General's office. It described football as a space that must stand for unity and respect rather than hatred or violence.

Who did Colombia lose to at the 2026 World Cup?
Colombia were eliminated by Switzerland in the quarter-finals, losing 4-3 on penalties after the match finished level following extra time. Switzerland's win set up a route to a semi-final against the winner of Argentina versus England.

Is online abuse of footballers a wider problem beyond Colombia?
Yes, players at major tournaments worldwide have faced racist and violent abuse online after missed penalties or costly mistakes, showing this is a systemic issue rather than one confined to Colombian football. Social media has made this abuse faster and more direct, even though the underlying culture of blaming individual players is not new.

What happens to Campaz now?
Campaz is expected to prioritise his and his family's safety before returning to Colombia, potentially resuming club duties with Rosario Central from Argentina. Any further steps depend on the Colombian Attorney General's office response to the federation's request for action.