A disturbing video captured the moment an Argentine football legend allegedly attacked his estranged wife as one of their two sons looked on in horror.
Leaked surveillance footage leaked Thursday purportedly showed Nestor Ortigoza, 39, attacking and beating Lucia Cassiau, 35, with a cellphone in their home in Ezeiza, a city outside Buenos Aires.
Video taken from Cassiau’s phone shows him gripping the phone hard before it falls to the ground.
As the surveillance footage continued to play, it appeared that Ortigoza punched her in the face and pushed her against a wall.
Ortigoza then scolded her briefly before walking over to her son and hugging him.
Argentine soccer legend Nestor Ortigoza (right) was caught on surveillance video allegedly attacking his estranged wife Lucía Cassiau (left). Ortigoza has been asked to step down from his board by San Lorenzo
Nestor Ortigoza (bottom left) walks menacingly toward Lucia Cassiau, his now estranged wife and the mother of their two children, during a domestic violence dispute that reportedly took place in 2023
Both appeared before the Ezeiza Public Prosecutor’s Office and filed charges against each other.
The Public Prosecution Service is investigating the former footballer for domestic violence, while Cassiau is accused of child abuse.
Video of another violent incident shows Ortigoza dribbling a soccer ball with one of the couple’s two sons in the backyard of a home.
It appeared that Cassiau and Ortigoza had an argument before the recording and she told Ortigoza, “Shut up because the child is here.”
Ortigoza responded by kicking a ball, knocking the phone off Cassiau’s hand and into her face.
A source with knowledge of the matter told an online news portal Information that the incidents of domestic violence occurred in 2023.
A video taken with Cassiau’s phone also shows him hitting the phone before it falls to the ground
Nestor Ortigoza is recorded kicking a soccer ball that would eventually knock the cell phone out of the hands of his now estranged wife, Lucia Cassiau. The ball also hit her in the face
Following the video footage, the San Lorenzo board has called on Ortigoza to resign as a board member.
In August he was sacked as technical director due to problems with the signing of a player.
“Following the publicly known facts that link him to situations of gender-based violence, the majority of the San Lorenzo Board of Directors has decided to demand that (manager) Néstor Ezequiel Ortigoza resign from his position, as his actions do not represent the values that our institution holds dear,” the team said in a statement.
Nestor Ortigoza played twice for Argentine club San Lorenzo. He retired after the 2022 season and was appointed to the team’s board of directors and later to sporting director.
Nestor Ortigoza (right) with his now estranged wife Lucía Cassiau (left) and one of their two sons
Ortigoza, born in San Antonio de Padua, a city in the province of Buenos Aires, was part of the Paraguay national team that participated in the 2010 World Cup.
He had a glittering career in the Argentine football league, playing two spells for San Lorenzo.
He led the club to their first ever Copa Libertadores title in 2014, scoring the winning goal in the final.
Ortigoza retired from San Lorenzo in 2022 and was appointed to the board of directors in December 2023.
