MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Silvia Martinez, wife of Uruguay national team head coach Oscar Tabarez, was admitted to a hospital on Saturday with burns to her face and arms after being the victim of an acid attack in the nation’s capital.
Martinez, 61, was walking alone through Carrasco, a neighborhood of Montevideo, when a motorcycle carrying two people slowly approached her. The motorcycle’s passenger then threw what Montevideo police describe as “corrosive liquid” from a bottle.
Montevideo police confirmed the attack to Uruguayan newspaper The Observer on Saturday night, saying they will continue their investigation after Tabarez, the first to treat Martinez after she had run back to their family home, reported the incident.
According to The Observer, Martinez had previously reported concerns about possible attempts on her life.
Martinez remains hospitalized in a sanatorium with burns estimated to cover 25 percent of her body, according to the press office of Montevideo’s Chief of Police.
Tabarez led Uruguay to South America’s continental championship this year in Argentina, and reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup.