Cabanas attacker allegedly taunted him for goals: report

A man suspected of shooting Paraguay World Cup star Salvador Cabanas in a Mexico City bar allegedly taunted him to score more goals beforehand, a report said Thursday.

Cabanas, who plays with Club America of the Mexican league, remains in a serious condition following Monday’s incident, which saw his attacker flee the scene.

The suspect, who has not yet been detained, allegedly told Cabanas to score more goals and asked how he would help the club win the Mexican league, during a conversation in the toilets of the “Bar Bar,” the Reforma daily reported, citing an employee of the establishment.

When the soccer star failed to reply, the suspect shot him, said the report, which claimed to be based on police files on the incident.

The prosecutor’s office told AFP that the employee who allegedly heard the conversation was in custody, along with six others, but declined to give further details.

Cabanas, the 2007 South American footballer of the year, had been due to play in this year’s World Cup in South Africa.

The bullet has yet to be removed from his skull, and his wife told Paraguayan television Thursday that he had squeezed her hands and given signs of life.