Shots fired outside home of Maxi Rodriguez's grandmother
Shots were fired in front of the home of Argentina and Newell's Old Boys player Maxi Rodriguez's grandmother on Tuesday. The violence is thought to be related to the upcoming Argentine derby between bitter rivals Rosario Central and Newell's Old Boys. No one was hurt.
Rosario Police Chief Miguel Oliva told the press that three shots were fired, but that at the time they had no suspects, and no arrests had been made. Oliva added he believed the inicident was related to the upcoming derby.
Local television reported that the incident appeared to involve fans of Newell's, upset over the team's poor performance. They currently sit in 18th, 19 points behind rivals Rosario Central. Newell's have not won in their last seven matches, with their last win coming on July 12.
This is not the first time the house has been targeted. Last July, before the same derby, the house was painted with slogans and threats, one of which read: "The classic or bullets."
Neither Rodriguez nor his garndmother have made any public statement regarding the shootings.
The duel between the "lepers" of Newell's and the "rogues" of Rosario is considered one of the biggest derbies in the Argentine game, to some even greater than Boca Juniors-River Plate. As it happens, those two teams will also clash on Sunday.
The Associate Press contributed to this report.
