Everton striker and Ecuador star Enner Valencia returned to his homeland for a World Cup qualifier against Chile, where he managed to escape a series of encounters with Ecuador’s finest and avoid arrest for unpaid child support.
After a training session this morning, a lawyer representing the mother of his child and some police officers attempted to arrest him and force him to pay the $17,000 he apparently owes in unpaid child support, per the Liverpool Echo. He was not arrested after some of the police officers apparently refused to detain him.
The police then stopped the team bus as it attempted to enter the stadium this afternoon. Agains, Valencia was not detained.
Valencia then started for Ecuador and helped his squad accrue a 3-0 lead over the defending Copa America champions by the time he came off in the 82nd minute. Valencia went down injured, and had to get a golf cart to take him to an ambulance. Thing is, he appears to have faked his injury and used the occasion to get into an ambulance in the tunnel, therefore escaping the police. Video from the game is quite surreal.
Somehow, he got away!
After the game ended (with a 3-0 Ecuador victory) the judge in charge of his case rescinded the arrest order, so Valencia will not need to make a third daring escape, sadly.
I look forward to the Ecuadorian officials attempting to dress up as Bolivia players next week and trying to serve him with court papers during a match.