Andrés Escobar Saldarriaga (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈdɾes eskoˈβaɾ saldaˈrjaɣa]; 13 March 1967 – 2 July 1994)[1] was a Colombian professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

[3] On 2 July 1994, Escobar was murdered in the aftermath of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, reportedly as retaliation for having scored an own goal which contributed to Colombia's elimination from the tournament.

[9] His father is Darío Escobar, a banker who founded an organization that gives young people the opportunity to play football instead of being on the streets.

His brother, Santiago, is a former footballer who played alongside Andrés at Atlético Nacional before moving into team management in 1998.

His first appearance in an international competition took place at the 1988 Rous Cup, where he also scored the only goal of his career in a 1–1 draw against England.

The team finished as winners of Group 2, though had to enter the inter-confederation play-offs, where they beat Israel 1–0 on aggregate and qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Escobar played in all of his country's matches during the World Cup as they reached the round of 16, being eliminated after a 2–1 loss to Cameroon.

[13] Escobar's own goal occurred in Colombia's second group match against host nation the United States during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

[11] On the evening of 1 July 1994, five days after the elimination of Colombia from the World Cup, Escobar called his friends, and they went to a bar in the El Poblado neighbourhood in Medellín.

[21] In the UK, the BBC issued a public apology after its football pundit Alan Hansen commented during the World Cup's Round of 16 match between Argentina and Romania that "The Argentine defender warrants shooting for a mistake like that," on 3 July, a day after the murder of Escobar.

[23] Humberto Castro Muñoz, a drug cartel bodyguard in Colombia, was arrested on the night of 2 July 1994, confessing the next day to the killing of Escobar.

[clarification needed] Castro was released on good behaviour due to further reductions from prison work and study in 2005.

Pamela Cascardo, Escobar's girlfriend at the time of the murder, believes that the accusation of the Gallón brothers' bribery of government officials is supported by Castro's having killed a national celebrity and serving only 11 years in prison.

[30] In 1997, Mujer, Casos de la Vida Real aired an episode based on the assassination entitled "Holocausto".

It was directed by Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, which looked back at Andrés Escobar's death, Colombia's 1994 World Cup run and the relationship between association football and the country's criminal gangs, notably the Medellín Cartel run by Pablo Escobar (unrelated to Andrés).