CHEAP SHOT

ICE Arrests Soccer Player at Airport as He Eats With Team

The Argentinian national was snatched while eating a slice of pizza with his teammates.

ICE agents detained an Argentinian semiprofessional soccer player as he was eating pizza with his team at a Florida airport. Matías Pourrain, a midfielder for Miami United Football Club, was taken into custody by agents at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as his team awaited their flight to Los Angeles for the championship game of the United Premier Soccer League, in the fourth tier of U.S. soccer, reports the Miami New Times. The team issued a statement on Instagram before their match, which it went on to lose, saying “the club has been fully at Matías and his family’s side, providing legal support, making an attorney available, and remaining in constant contact with his family.” A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek that Pourrain had overstayed his visa after he was admitted legally to the U.S. in 2019. However, his brother, Juan Pourrain, told Argentinian outlet Todo Noticias that he had asylum status and Social Security but was awaiting a pending appointment. Pourrain is currently in custody at the Glades County Detention Center, according to the ICE detainee database.