Summary Fans of Palmeiras the Brazilian club have become disenchanted with struggling team.
Violent threats from fan groups have increased as the team nears relegation in the Brazilian league for the second time in 10 years.
Beside players hiring bodyguards, coach Gilson Kleina has talked about the need to avoid a tragedy, and Argentina striker Hernan Barcos the team s top star says it won t be worth staying at the club if he starts fearing for his safety.
Even Brazil s sports minister has become involved, publicly asking for the threats to stop.
Palmeiras won this year s Brazilian Cup under coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, but now it is seven points from safety with only four rounds left.
After the team s disappointing 2-2 home draw against Botafogo last Sunday, some fans tried to invade the field and got into an altercation with police officers, injuring two of them and prompting the local football federation to ban the team s biggest fan group from matches.
The night after the game, one of the club s walls was painted with a death threat to president Arnaldo Tirone, and during the week some players said they started receiving anonymous phone calls with serious threats.
Club director Cesar Sampaio, a longtime Palmeiras idol, was told by disgruntled fans to "watch his back."
"We don t know if these threats are for real or not, but we are being careful," Sampaio said. "We ve been talking to the players to try to keep them from losing it emotionally. It s important to keep our calm in a moment like this."
Coach Kleina, who replaced Scolari after the World Cup-winning coach wasn t able to improve the team s situation, said he fears for the players safety.
"We have to be careful to avoid a tragedy," he said. "We have to take care of these players, especially the less experienced ones."
Barcos, who has scored 27 goals since joining the club in the beginning of the year, said he will consider leaving Brazil if he no longer feels safe.
"If it s to live like this, driving an armored car and with a gun in hand, I would rather go home," he said.
Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo, a Palmeiras fan, loudly condemned the threats this week.
"It s inadmissible to have threats from fans against players of any club," he said. "There is no place for that in football. It s unacceptable."
Earlier in the year, a restaurant owned by Palmeiras vice president was badly damaged by fans after a loss to rival Corinthians.
