Violence against footballers
Ecuador international player shot dead in attack
12/18/2025 – 7:46 a.mReading time: 1 min.
The perpetrators are said to have attacked from motorcycles. There has been an increasing number of acts of violence against footballers in Ecuador recently.
Ecuadorian footballer Mario Pineida was shot dead in an attack in the port city of Guayaquil. His club Barcelona SC and the Interior Ministry confirmed the incident and announced an investigation. Pineida represented Ecuador at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
According to the news portal Primicias, Pineida was attacked by two gunmen on motorcycles who opened fire on him, his mother and another woman. There has been an increasing number of acts of violence against footballers in Ecuador recently: three second division players were killed in September, one of whom is said to have had connections to sports betting. A month later, local professional Bryan Angula was injured in a gun attack.
“Barcelona SC deeply regrets to announce that we have been officially informed of the death of our player Mario Pineida, an event that occurred after an attack on him,” the club wrote on the X platform. The Interior Ministry also confirmed the incident and announced the deployment of a special unit to investigate.
Guayaquil has become a hotspot for organized crime. Ecuador, once one of the safest countries in Latin America, is now a major transshipment point for cocaine between the producer countries Colombia, Peru and international markets. Between January and September, 1,900 murders were recorded in the city – the highest number in the country.