News agency 'SITE Intel Group' reports that groups linked to ISIS have threatened to attack next summer's World Cup in Russia, with the groups in question using a photo of Lionel Messi being held prisoner and crying blood as a warning.
'SITE' reported on Tuesday that the image had been spread by the WAFA Media Foundation, which is thought to have links with radical Islam and has been used by ISIS for propaganda purposes in the past.
It is not the first time that ISIS have annouced the World Cup as a target, having previously released an image of a soldier of the caliphate armed with a firearm and explosives watching over the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
Messi will be one of the stars of next summer's tournament and 'SITE' reports that ISIS have used his status and image as a way of spreading terror among the footballing fraternity.
The Barca and Argentina star appears in the warning from the radical group being held prisoner and crying blood.