Soccer player who acknowledged he killed a heckling fan is back on the pitch

Soccer player who killed fan back on field

BOGOTA, Colombia — A soccer player who acknowledged he killed a heckling fan last year is back playing for Colombian club Atletico Junior.

Javier Florez played 75 minutes on Tuesday in an exhibition match between the reserves of Atletico Junior and Real Cartagena.

The midfielder said heckling fans challenged him to a fight after Atletico Junior lost a Colombian league match on July 5. Florez acknowledged he was drunk and pulled a gun on the fans. He said one of them tried to take the gun away and it went off several times. He said he did not intend to kill anyone.

Florez was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to three years probation.