Kerala football fan, who went missing after Argentina's defeat, found dead

Kottayam: An ardent fan of Argentina, who went missing after the South American team’s 3-0 loss to Croatia in 2018 FIFA World Cup, was found dead near Illikkal Bridge in Kottayam on Sunday, news agency ANI reported.

The man, identified as Dinu Joseph, went missing since 5 am on Friday morning after Argentina suffered a defeat at the hands of Croatia. He left a note behind saying he was upset with the team’s defeat and was going to end his life, police had said.

The note in Malyalam reportedly said, "I have nothing more left to be seen in this world. I am going down into the depths.”

A native of Arumanoor village near Kottayam, Dinu was last seen by his parents watching late night football match at his home. His father told that his son was a great fan of Argentina captain Lionel Messi.

According to news agency PTI, the distraught football fan was suspected to have jumped into a river. Police had said that they along with Fire and Rescue service personnel were searching in a nearby river as a sniffer dog ran up to the river bank and stopped there.

The unfortunate news of Dinu Joseph’s death coincides with the birthday of the Argentina captain. Messi turned 31 on Sunday.

Argentina has only one point from two games so far in the World Cup. It has to beat Nigeria in their last game and hope other results go their way to avoid elimination.