Luis Moreno kicks the owl during a match in Colombia. Photograph: Public domain An injured owl that was kicked off the field by a player during a match between Colombian football clubs has died. A veterinarian, Camilo Tapia, said the owl went into shock on Tuesday, after having been taken in for treatment two days earlier.
On Sunday, the owl landed, injured, near the corner of the pitch during a match in Barranquilla between Atlético Junior and Deportivo Pereira. The Panamanian defender Luis Moreno, who plays for Pereira, walked over and kicked the owl about three metres, to get it off the field.
The owl was the Atlético Junior mascot and Moreno later apologised to home fans. Humberto Mendoza, the director of the agency that oversees environmental issues in Barranquilla, said he was investigating possible sanctions against Moreno.
Meanwhile, Moreno says he had been threatened since the incident. "There have been all kinds of things ... on the telephone, everything," he declared in a television interview. "It wasn't my intention to hurt the animal. It's very difficult for me and my family who are in Panama and are afraid about all this."
The player's tearful mother said in an interview in Panama: "I'm very worried, his intention was not to kill the animal."
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