Thugs armed with guns have interrupted a professional football team’s training session by firing into the air to warn the players to win their next match.
The shocking incident occurred when Argentine second-tier side Gimnasia de Jujuy were training.
Local media report two armed men walked onto the training pitch and began firing shots into the air.
Jujuy captain Alejandro Frezotti told local media outlet TN: “We were training and the truth is the first thing we thought was that it was a motorbike. “
He added: “I’m amazed. It’s true that there is sometimes trouble on the pitch, but something like this has never happened to us.”
And Jujuy defender Leonardo Ferreyra told reporters the intruders had shouted “give everything on Saturday, your only option is winning”.
The club sit in 16th place in the National B Division and face Central Cordoba de Santiago del Estero this weekend as they fight to stay in the division.
Jujuy vice-president Fernando Yecora told local media the men had come with “motorcycle helmets on so they could not be identified” and added “they shot three times into the air.”
Yecora recalled them shouting the same phrases as Ferreyra and says the pair then left on a motorbike.
He added: “From the club we condemn this violent incident on the squad. They have to understand that it is only a football match and not a life-or-death situation.”
Police were called to the scene and are working to identify the culprits.
The club released a statement confirming the incident took place and said security measures had been taken to stop it happening again.
No arrests have been reported.
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Story By: Alex Cope, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder,Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
