Three goals. That was the figure included in the threat that Manuel Ferrel, the goalkeeper of Guabirà, allegedly received shortly before taking to the field against Always Ready in the Bolivian championship. If he did not pay a certain amount of money or if his team did not concede at least three goals, his wife and mother would be killed.
Then the match begins. Always Ready scores in the 17th minute, doubles in the 20th and in the 35th minute it is exactly 3-0. Four minutes later Ferrel leaves the field, replaced by Jorge Arauz. In the end the score will be 6-0. This is the sequence that is now being investigated by the Bolivian Football Federation and the Prosecutor's Office, after a very serious public denunciation made by the Guabirà coach, Leonardo Eguez, and his players.
Death threats against goalkeeper before Always Ready-Guabirà
It was Eguez who revealed what allegedly happened at the end of the match. The coach appeared before reporters along with the team and explained that Ferrel had received threats directed not only at him, but also at his wife and mother.
According to the coach's reconstruction, the goalkeeper was given a choice: pay a sum of money or make Guabirà concede at least three goals. Otherwise, his family would be killed. Ferrel allegedly informed his teammates and staff about the situation shortly before entering the field.
This accusation is serious and because Leo Egüez has done this, he has kept the paperwork.
— Bati (@Luxiin) September 13, 2026
Será que acaba en algo y mas personajes del futbol boliviano dicen algo? O llamado de atención y heladerazo para Leo? pic.twitter.com/WyPNHH7h0r
The match inevitably makes the denunciation even more worrying. Enrique Triverio put Always Ready ahead in the 17th minute, Joel Amoroso made it 2-0 three minutes later and Triverio scored again in the 35th. In the 39th minute Ferrel was substituted. A minute later it was 4-0, then 5-0 before the break and the final score was 6-0 in the 88th minute.
This, of course, does not prove that Ferrel conceded the goals intentionally: this is precisely one of the aspects that the investigation must clarify. The denunciation is in fact related to the threats that allegedly had a psychological impact on the goalkeeper and the entire team. And Ferrel would not have been the only footballer terrorized.
Striker Victor Abrego was also substituted in the 39th minute. After the match, he explained that he had asked to leave the game himself because he was afraid of what might happen if he scored a goal. “What would have happened if I had scored?” he admitted at the end of the match.
Eguez used very strong words, speaking openly about a situation that must be stopped and requesting the intervention of the Federation, the Prosecutor's Office and the Bolivian authorities. Always Ready, for its part, expressed solidarity with Guabirà and asked for the matter to be clarified to the end, specifying that the denunciation of opponents is not directly addressed to the club.
Now investigators will have to figure out where the threats came from and whether there was really an attempt to manipulate the match behind them. Meanwhile, there remains a coincidence that inevitably makes the chronology impressive: the goalkeeper, according to the complaint, was told about at least three goals. By the third, after 35 minutes, his match was practically over.
