Santa Fe fans vandalise Miguel Ángel Russo tribute mural in Colombia | OneFootball

An unfortunate incident has sparked concern among the authorities in Bogotá. Supporters of Independiente Santa Fe vandalized the mural of Miguel Ángel Russo ahead of the classic match against Millonarios.

The fans of the “Blanquirojo” painted their crest over the face of ‘Miguelo’ and over the phrase that immortalized the coach: “Everything is healed with love”. He expressed this phrase during his stay in Colombia when he was diagnosed with cancer.

According to reports, the graffiti has a “revenge motive”, since months ago, fans of Millonarios had allegedly painted over and vandalized the mural of one of Santa Fe’s idols. This situation was exposed on social media with the circulation of a “reminder video.”

The graffiti is not an isolated incident among “taunts”, as it has an undertone of territorial dispute, at least that’s what is clear from the words exchanged after each act of vandalism and the messages shared on social media.

“This city is too small for both of you sons of bitches”, reads one of the murals, while another states: “I really want to know who the fool was that did that so I can mess up his face the same way and teach him some respect.” There’s also a social comment: “Next year they’ll travel for the cup (Libertadores), bad times all over the continent for those dogs.”

The problems between the supporter groups are evident and have alerted Security, which so far has not announced specific measures or an increase in personnel for the Saturday match at the Independiente Santa Fe stadium, where about 3,000 Millonarios fans will also be present.

The bond between Miguel Russo and Millonarios engraved in fire: the beginning of football as medicine

It was during his time as coach of Millonarios that ‘Miguelo’ was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the same moment in which he immortalized a phrase that was etched in fire: “Everything is healed with love” and made it clear that football was medicine for him.

During his time with the “Azul”, Russo won two titles, the 2017 and 2018 Leagues, leaving a legacy that went beyond trophies—a bond and a situation that was conveyed as a message of strength: overcoming his illness on the field of play and, as the fans recall, “he never abandoned us.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.