Ecuador forward Enner Valencia avoided police on Thursday for a third time in the space of two days after a warrant was issued for his detention regarding charges of unpaid child support, according to local media reports.
Valencia, on loan at Everton from Premier League rivals West Ham United, started for Ecuador in their 3-0 win over Chile on Thursday in their 2018 World Cup qualifier at the Estadio Olympic Atahualpa in Quito and police waited by the pitch to detain him after the game.
But with 10 minutes to go, the 26-year-old received treatment on the field for altitude sickness and was taken away by an injury cart, with police seen chasing the vehicle.
De Ripley. Enner Valencia salió en camilla, casi lo arrestan y lo llevaron con prisa a la ambulancia y así salió del estadio. Que cosas. pic.twitter.com/I7VnAWYLC3
- Andrés Muñoz Araneda (@andresmunoza) October 6, 2016
Valencia was then taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio has reported that the arrest warrant against Valencia was revoked, with a judge reportedly giving Valencia a deadline to resolve the matter with his ex-wife, shortly before kick-off in the Ecuadorean capital.
Valencia's representative, Gonzalo Vargas, posted on Twitter what he said was part of the document revoking the detention issued by Guayaquil judge Martha Guerrero.
Caso Enner Valencia, parte final de resolución ; pic.twitter.com/PxprDk08r0
- Gonzalo Vargas (@chalo_vargasr) October 6, 2016
Police had first attempted to question Valencia on Wednesday while training with his national team and again when he exited the team bus after arriving at the stadium before Thursday's match.
According to national newspaper El Universo, Valencia owes his former wife $17,000 in unpaid child support.
Paul Marin, the lawyer representing the player's ex-wife, said he was unhappy that the police had failed to detain the player after the court order was issued.
He told the local press, as reported in AS: "It's deplorable that certain members of the police have not cooperated with the detention of the player Enner Valencia to comply with a court order for the case of unpaid alimony with a debt of $17,000.
"If they claim this gentleman wins so much, why is he not paying his monthly contribution to his daughter and leaving it to accumulate and for this to be made public? But all the better so that the whole of Ecuador knows about this."
Ecuador are third in the CONMEBOL qualification table, level on 16 points with fourth-placed Colombia and Argentina, who are fifth.
The Tricolor travel to La Paz on Sunday to prepare for Tuesday's 2018 World Cup qualifier against Bolivia.