Dirty TacklePalmeiras attacked by their own fans in airport after Copa Libertadores loss
Following a 1-0 loss to Argentine club Tigre in the Copa Libertadores, Palmeiras fans attacked their own team at the airport in Buenos Aires. The video above only shows the verbal confrontation between the players and fans, but goalkeeper Fernando Prass was injured once the violence started while one of his teammates hid in the bathroom.
From Reuters:
Prass suffered a cut to his ear and some glasses were broken during the attack by about 30 fans before the team boarded a flight to return to Sao Paulo after Wednesday's Group Two match in which they conceded the goal three minutes into added time.
The Argentine sports daily Ole (www.ole.com.ar) and Brazil's Glogo (www.globo.com) said the fans were mainly after Palmeiras' Chilean midfielder Jorge Valdivia, who hid in airport restrooms as hooligans fought with players and security personnel until police intervened.
Though Palmeiras won the Copa do Brasil under former manager Phil Scolari in 2012, fans have grown increasingly frustrated with the team as they ended up getting relegated to the second division and currently sit third in their Libertadores group after losing to last-place Tigre.
In 2011, Palmeiras fans attacked on-loan midfielder Joao Vitor outside the stadium after a run of poor results. So it seems the continued threat of physical violence from supporters isn't working as a motivational tool for the team.
