Cyber-attack, trolls and girlfriend's 'difficult decision': Not a great week for Piero Hincapie

WASHINGTON: Ecuadorian star Piero Hincapie's love affair has now grabbed headlines amid the frenzy of the World Cup. Reports say that Hincapie was dumped by his girlfriend Aura de la Cruz, a Spanish influencer and model. Aura confirmed the news of the breakup in an emotional post shared on her Instagram story the other day. But she later retracted this post.

“Our relationship is over. This was a very difficult decision. But sometimes we have to accept that things don't go the way we thought. Don't associate me with him anymore. Please stop sending me cyberbullying and bad messages,” Aura wrote on Instagram.

The news of Hincapie's breakup with his girlfriend came shortly after Ecuador suffered a surprise defeat to the Ivory Coast in their opening match of the World Cup. Ecuador fans were also heavily critical of Hincapie's poor performance in the match. Following the defeat in the game, trolls and cyberbullying were active on social media, suggesting that the player's girlfriend had also left him.

But Aura clarified that the breakup should not be linked to the World Cup results. She also requested that the cyber-attacks targeting her stop. Meanwhile, Hincapie was not ready to comment on the issue. The player said that his entire focus is on the next matches. Ecuador fans are worried that the breakup will affect the player's subsequent performances in the World Cup.