Player quits after threat from hardcore fans

Tigre midfielder Matias Gimenez, threatened by his own team's hardcore fans who accuse him of not trying hard enough, would not play for the club any longer, he said today.

Gimenez told reporters he was accosted in the street on his way home and threatened with violence, saying the hooligans criticised his "attitude on the pitch... we argued a bit and then something very nasty happened but I won't go into detail."

The 26-year-old said he had told his agent and the club's board of his decision. He would continue to train with Tigre, who are bottom of the first division, and seek a move during the next transfer window.

"I took the decision for the security of my family, they're everything to me and I don't want anything to happen to them... I have two children who really are worth more than a ball."