Ecuadorian footballer Mario Pineida shot dead

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Ecuadoran footballer Mario Pineida was shot and killed in the port city of Guayaquil on Wednesday, his team said.

Guayaquil has become a hotspot for gang violence linked to drug trafficking and several football players in Ecuador have been targeted in recent months.

Pineida, 33, was part of Ecuador’s national team for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifiers, but was not selected for the squad for the 2022 finals in Qatar. He also played for Fluminense in 2022.

In a post on X, his club, Barcelona SC, said it “regrets to inform, with deep sorrow, that it has been officially notified of the death of our player Mario Pineida, an event that occurred following an attack against him” in Guayaquil. Punch