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Lost and found: Madonna has the Spanish soccer jersey Celta Vigo was searching for

VIGO, Spain (AP) — Madonna has answered the call of a Spanish soccer club that was seeking a long-lost jersey worn by the pop icon more than three decades ago.

Madonna replied Saturday to a plea for information regarding the whereabouts of the shirt from Spanish soccer club Celta Vigo with a post on X saying that she still possessed the garment.

“This shirt is hanging in my archives! I am wearing and representing your team in spirit!” Madonna said.

Celta had published an open letter to Madonna this week asking if she still had the baby-blue-and-white Celta jersey she wore during a 1990 concert at its Balaidos stadium.

Club president Marián Mouriño Terrazo wrote: “Over time we came to better understand what you stood for back then: questioning established norms and standing up to those who try to tell you what you can or cannot do. At our club we recognize ourselves in this line of thought. That is why we hold on to the hope of finding the garment you once wore.

“Do you have it? If you know where it may be, or if you would like to join us in the search to retrieve it, please contact us via private message.”

Madonna’s social media post was a reply to a video posted by the club of a musical rendition of Madonna’s 1989 hit “Like a Prayer” performed on the field of its Balaidos Stadium by a choir of women singers backed by a string orchestra before Friday’s game against Real Madrid.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

NYPD says dozens rescued from human trafficking during World Cup

▶ Watch Video: Inside look at security preparations for World Cup Forty-three people, including seven minors, were rescued from human traffickers during the World Cup matches in the New York City area, according to the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit.The rescue operations were carried out between June 11 and July 19 by specialized NYPD detectives who arrested 89 individuals."The surprise was really the outpouring of support behind the mission and the collaboration with all our partners," said Inspector Gary Marcus, commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit.Those rescued, largely the victims of sex trafficking, are now being supported with an array of social services for the victims, including food, housing and counseling.The 87 operations carried out during the World Cup have generated new leads, officials said, and law enforcement agencies are building more cases based on the investigations already underway."We have ongoing investigations now as a result of these operations," an NYPD official told CBS News.Major sporting events are known to law enforcement as hotbeds of human trafficking.Years in advance, the NYPD devoted significant resources to preparing for the World Cup. Eight matches were played at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, including the final on Sunday."When we talk about the outreach and the prep we do, a large part of that involved visiting the known sex offenders, particularly the known human traffickers, in our registry," Marcus said. "Whether they're on parole or probation for human trafficking, we visited them to make sure they're compliant with the terms of their release, and secondly, to let them know that the NYPD is watching."The matches were held in multiple cities around the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Preparations to secure those games and prepare for crimes like human trafficking were coordinated between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.Police departments in many locations that hosted World Cup matches have made arrests and rescues connected to human trafficking, including in Georgia, New England and Missouri. Nationally, there were more than 673 arrests on human-trafficking charges made during the World Cup, and 61 adults and 13 minors rescued, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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