Tino Asprilla recalls the moment he stopped a hitman from killing Jose Luis Chilavert

By Alasdair Mackenzie
published

Former Newcastle striker Faustino Asprilla has claimed that he convinced a hitman not to kill Paraguay goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert in 1997.

Faustino Asprilla

Asprilla’s Colombia fell to a 2-1 defeat to Paraguay in a World Cup qualifying match, during which he and Chilavert were both sent off.

And the ex-Newcastle favourite told Colombian TV channel TelePacifico that he had to talk a gunman who called his hotel room after the match out of assassinating the Paraguayan great.

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Alasdair Mackenzie

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.