Ivory Coast hero was victim of human trafficking network

Amad Diallo, Manchester United player, who scored Ivory Coast's only goal in the victory against Ecuador, was the victim of a human trafficking network, which took him to Italy in 2015.

At the time he was taken on a migratory wave across the Mediterranean, the player was just 13 years old. The illegal organization forged documents to smuggle African minors into the European country.

Registered as the son of people he did not know, Diallo was taken as the brother of another player, Hamed Junior Traoré, who plays for Olympique de Marseille. However, years later it was proven that the athletes have no blood relationship.

In 2020, the case of Amad Diallo had repercussions in Italy after he was accused by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) of using false documents to enter the country. The following year, he was fined 48,000 euros by the institution.

According to a report in the newspaper The Athletic at the end of last year, prosecutors reported that the player had been taken to the Reggio Emilia region, in northern Italy, by five adults, who were arrested in 2020 for taking young players to the country illegally.

"It wasn't exactly human trafficking, because the players were aware of what was happening and led a reasonable life with their fake parents", declared an investigator when asked about the case, in 2021.

"We don't know how much the families received or whether part of the money was sent to biological families in Côte d'Ivoire," he added.

Even though he had never met his biological parents, Amad Diallo decided to represent the national team of the country where he was born, and on Sunday (14), he ended up silencing the vast majority of Ecuadorian fans who made a lot of noise at the Lincoln Financial Field - the Philadelphia stadium had a total audience of more than 68 thousand people.

In addition to leaving Ivory Coast in a great situation, the victory also broke a curious taboo: the Ivorian team had always faced South Americans in the group stages of World Cups, but had never won.

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Source: CNN