Kidnap facts are stranger than fiction

Kidnappers idolised Carlos Tevez (left) and hoped he would forgive them. Heavyweight champ Riddick Bowe beat was unable to beat jail time after kidnapping his ex-wife and five kids. Photos / AP

Case files show abductions of sports stars or members of their families have rarely ended well

Australian golfer Robert Allenby's weird kidnap story from Hawaii last week joins a long line of sports abduction cases, ranging from the tragic to the ridiculous. Ten examples:

1. Shergar (Irish racehorse), 1983

The stuff of a Hollywood film, which it was in a very loose way. Shergar, the brilliant 1981 Epsom Derby winner, was taken at gunpoint and never seen again. The head police investigator, "Spud" Murphy, used clairvoyants and psychics in the hunt while the owners refused to pay up to discourage repeats. In classic kidnap fashion, the perpetrators sent a picture of Shergar posing by a newspaper to confirm the colt was alive, although not for long. The usual suspects in those days - IRA members - supposedly machine-gunned the horse who was then buried in a bog.

English Derby winner Shergar. Photo / AP

2. Johan Cruyff (Dutch football legend), 1978

It took the maestro 30 years to reveal why he bypassed the World Cup finals, where the Dutch lost to hosts Argentina. The Cruyff family had been tied up at gunpoint in their Barcelona home two months earlier. Cruyff escaped to foil the attempted kidnap but said the ordeal, and living under guard, changed his values. He finally revealed all partly to stop his wife from still being blamed for his 1978 World Cup absence.

3. Olympic Munich massacre (Israeli athletes), 1972.

The most famous sports kidnap, which ended in terrible tragedy. The Palestinian Black September group took 11 hostages and wanted more than 200 prisoners released. The botched affair led to the death of all the athletes, a police officer and five of the eight kidnappers. The other three were hunted down and assassinated by the Israeli secret service, as depicted in a not-so-secret film.

4. Riddick Bowe (US boxer), 1998.

The former champ's ex-wife and five children were kidnapped ... by Bowe. It gets worse, but we'll leave it there. Only in heavyweight boxing.

5. Carlos Tevez (Argentine footballer), 2014

Tevez paid a $60,000 ransom to free his father, who was kidnapped in Buenos Aires. The kidnappers told Tevez snr they idolised his son and were upset he had been left out of the national team but desperately needed money to feed their families and hoped Tevez would forgive them.

6. John Obi Mikel (Nigerian footballer), 2011

Tevez snr could feel somewhat undervalued considering the abductors of Mikel's father allegedly sought $4.8 billion, which they described as "chicken change" to the player and his Chelsea club. The EPL is flooded with money but not quite that much. Mikel's dad was freed by a police raid.

7. Wilson Palacios (Honduran footballer), 2007

Current Stoke City player Palacios' multi-million pound transfer between English Premier League clubs is said to have bolstered the ransom demands for the release of his 14-year-old brother. About $660,000 was paid, but murder still ensued, the boy's body being found two years later when gangsters fessed up.

8. Wilson Ramos (Venezuelan baseballer), 2011.

A commando raid freed the Washington Nationals catcher who was held for two days by a gang at a mountain hideaway in his homeland. Ramos said he felt "born again" following his release after a gun battle.

9. Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Georgian basketballer), 2002.

Criminals read the sports news with extra interest in Georgia, where kidnappings are all the rage. Tskitishvili moved his family to Denver after menacing strangers visited their home when he signed a huge contract with the Nuggets.

10. Bruma (Portuguese footballer), 2013

"Angry Sporting Lisbon fans" tried to kidnap the teenager after he told the club of his desire to take up an overseas offer. Well, his manager claimed this happened, although subsequent validation is hard to find.