A COLOMBIAN football star’s brother has been shot dead just days after the team lost 2-1 to England in the Women’s World Cup.
Jorelyn Carabali’s younger sibling Paulo Andres Carabali, 23, was murdered in a Cali nightclub, where he works as a DJ, in what is believed to be a brutal revenge killing.
Carabali, 26, plays as centre back for the women’s national team – while also playing for Brazilian side Atlético Mineiro.
The killing took place in the early hours of August 14, just two days after Jorelyn experienced heartbreak with Colombia in their quarter-final clash with the Lionesses in Australia.
Local police believe that Paulo’s murder was linked to his alleged work as an loan shark – an illegal moneylender who often charges very high interest rates.
Colonel William Quintero of Cali Metropolitan Police said: “The homicide of a person occurred inside a night establishment, where according to what has been determined with the security staff, a suspect entered and shot him repeatedly and took his life.”
Read more in Football
Welcome-home festivities for Colombia Women’s team went ahead as planned on Tuesday, despite the catastrophe for centre-back Jorelyn.
However, it was not confirmed whether the defender was in attendance.
The Colombian Football Federation did confirmed the 26-year-old had thanked her teammates for their support after his death.
The South American nation topped Group H with two wins from their three games, before goals from England duo Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo sent them packing in the quarter-finals.
Most read in Football
Jorelyn featured in all four games for Colombia as they achieved their best ever finish at the World Cup.
England, meanwhile, went on to defeat co-hosts Australia in the semi-finals with a 3-1 victory on Wednesday.
They will now face Spain in the final in Sydney on Sunday.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
