Chilean club owners file charges after death threats

The owners of a Chilean football club which has been performing poorly for the past five years have initiated criminal proceedings after death threats targeting the team management were received, the president of Blancoy Negro, the enterprise that owns the Colo Colo football club, has announced.

Arturo Salah, the head of the Blancoy Negro company, Tuesday said the fact that the threats were being made in a sporting context did not mean they shouldn't be taken seriously, reports Xinhua.

"The sports aspect does not justify those kind of threats, which we know how they start, but we don't know how they end," said Salah.

Salah added that the team's performance "does not justify the severity of the threats that we have received, so we have filed criminal proceedings at the public prosecutor's office".

The threats specifically targeted the team's main shareholder, Anibal Mosa, who received the threats via his cellphone and online social networks.

Colo Colo, currently ranked last in the local league, has been performing poorly for the past five years, and its management team has come under fire from fans.

The fans say they have been shut out of the decision-making process since the team came under the control of the franchise in the early 2000s.

The lawyer of the franchise, Cristian Puga, warned that the criminal proceedings will go forward against anyone responsible for the threats and that they will pursue the maximum sentence applicable, which is three years in jail.