and Asprilla remained in the team. However, again Colombia was eliminated in the first round following one win and two losses. Asprilla was dismissed from the team after complaining to reporters about the head coach's decision to substitute him near the end of Colombia's opening loss against Romania. In 2001, at age 32, Asprilla retired from international football. Retirement In July 2009, Asprilla officially retired from top flight football following a retirement match in Medellín, Colombia. Although this marks his official retirement date, he had not been actively employed by a professional side in around five years. In 2008, he was arrested for allegedly firing a machine gun at security forces near his farm in Colombia. He was placed under house arrest on charges of weapons possession and criminal damage. He has appeared in various Colombian Reality Shows, such as Desafio 2005 and Nomadas. He made a return to St James' Park on 22 January 2011 appearing on the pitch at half time during Newcastle United's Premier League home match against Tottenham Hotspur and attended a charity dinner in Gateshead that evening, alongside Les Ferdinand and Peter Beardsley, where he spoke of his affection for the Newcastle fans. In early 2013, Asprilla was linked with a return to his former club Newcastle. Asprilla spoke of performing a coaching role with the youth squad as well as developing a special role in introducing young talent into the academy from his homeland Colombia. His intention is to give Colombians a chance to showcase their skills in European/English football, based on the sheer amount of talent that has come from Colombia in recent years. Asprilla played in former Magpies goalkeeper Steve Harper's testimonial match on 11 September 2013 against A.C. Milan Glorie. He had a header disallowed for offside before the Italians won 2–1 on penalties. In September 2014, it was revealed Asprilla was preparing to launch a range of flavoured condoms in Colombia. In 2020, he sold the products at a special promotional price in order to ease the strains of the COVID-19 pandemic in his home country. Asprilla revealed in 2019 that a hitman wanted to murder Paraguay goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert after both players were sent off in Colombia's 2–1 defeat during a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier in 1997. Style of play Regarded as one of the greatest Colombian players of all time, Asprilla was capable of playing as