Campus scored the penalty but didn't dare to board the plane back to Bogotá.

In the 115th minute of extra time at BC Place in Vancouver, the score was deadlocked at 0-0.

The ball fell to Jaminton Campaz. Ten yards from goal, the best chance of the match. He took the shot, and the ball sailed into the stands.

In the penalty shootout, Davinson Sánchez stepped up second and smashed his effort off the crossbar. Campaz took the third penalty and scored. Cucho Hernández's spot-kick was saved by Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. 4-3, the Swiss celebrated, the Colombians went home.

Two days later, Caracol Radio journalist Camilo Pinto dropped a bombshell on Instagram: Campaz had received death threats. Not just aimed at him, but his five-year-old daughter was also targeted.

Campaz disabled his comments section. He did not board the team's charter flight back to Bogotá.

Around the same time, Vinícius Júnior's Brazil lost 1-2 to Norway. The Real Madrid winger, valued between €120 million and €170 million, typed "very, very sad day" on social media, expressed "enormous frustration," apologized, and life went on.

And Campaz? According to Transfermarkt, his market value is €5.5 million, and his contract with Rosario Central in Argentina expires this December.

One twenty-fifth of Vinícius's value.

Scroll through social media, and you'd think Campaz was the sole culprit for Colombia's elimination.

Jaminton Leandro Campaz, born in 2000 in Tumaco, a poverty-stricken region on Colombia's Pacific coast. 168 cm tall, left-footed. Colombia played five matches in this World Cup; he appeared in three. In the opening group stage match against Uzbekistan, in the 98th minute and 9th second of stoppage time, he scored a header to seal a 3-1 victory. The latest regulation-time goal in Colombian World Cup history.

No one remembers that. The internet's memory only has room for one frame: the 115th minute, ten yards out, the ball flying into the stands.

Two players missed penalties in the shootout: Davinson Sánchez and Cucho Hernández. Only Campaz received death threats.

The squad included Luis Díaz, Liverpool's winger, and James Rodríguez, a veteran with 131 international caps. The scapegoat label couldn't be pinned on them.

Teammate Juan Fernando Quintero left a comment on Campaz's post, which Noticias RCN described as a fine speech about "introspection and reflection." Ángel Di María also offered public support. Quintero didn't have to worry about his five-year-old daughter's safety; Di María returned to Rosario, not facing the streets of Bogotá.

The art of finding a scapegoat shares the same filtering logic in the locker room and on social media: first, pick the one with the smallest contract.

The statistics actually favored Colombia. xG 1.09 to 0.38, shots 15 to 7, scoring opportunities 11 to 4.

The data proved Colombia deserved to win, just unlucky in front of goal. But numbers can't stop bullets.

July 2, 1994, Medellín. Andrés Escobar left the El Indio nightclub, and someone was waiting in the parking lot. As Escobar sat in his car, the killer, Humberto Muñoz Castro, pulled out a .38 caliber pistol and fired six shots. Witnesses said he shouted "¡Gol!" with each pull of the trigger.

Ten days earlier, Escobar had scored an own goal against the host nation in the US World Cup. Colombia lost 1-2 and was eliminated. The alleged masterminds were the Gallón brothers—Santiago and Pedro David Gallón Henao—Colombian drug traffickers who reportedly lost heavily on bets. Escobar was 27 that year; 120,000 people attended his funeral. The killer confessed and served less than 12 years in prison.

In early February 2026, Santiago Gallón Henao was shot dead at a restaurant on the outskirts of Mexico City. Colombian President Gustavo Petro confirmed the death on social media. Mexican prosecutors are investigating whether it was a gangland hit.

Five months later, new death threats target another Colombian international and his young daughter.

The .38 caliber pistol in the Medellín parking lot has been replaced by Instagram DMs. A single mistake on the pitch, paid for with life.

The Colombian Football Federation issued a statement, "strongly condemning the threats against the safety of Campaz and his family," calling for the Attorney General's Office to intervene. The statement read: "Football should be a space for unity, respect, and hope, and should never become a stage for hatred, intimidation, or violence."

Fine words.

Campaz himself typed a message on Instagram.

"Since I was a child, I dreamed of defending the colors of Colombia, listening to the national anthem, representing millions of people, and scoring goals in the World Cup." In the middle, he added: "I deeply regret not being able to give everyone the joy they expected."

He concluded: "We can feel frustration or sadness, but no passion justifies hatred and living in fear."

After Gallón Henao was killed in February, Andrés Escobar's brother, Santiago, said something. "It doesn't move me. Because even if that could bring Andrés back..."

The team's charter plane landed in Bogotá.

Campaz was not on it.