RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Andre Santos, a defender with struggling Brazilian top flight side Flamengo, was attacked by fans following Sunday’s 4-0 thrashing by Internacional in what his club called a “cowardly” act.

The loss left the once proud Rio side bottom of the table after a run of just one win in 11 games.

The fans lay in wait for Santos, who played for English Premier League side Arsenal from 2011-13, after the game in Porto Alegre and kicked and punched him, he revealed, as the team prepared to fly back to Rio.

“I was kicked and punched. I was on my own save for a security guard. The police arrived straight away and helped me a lot but I received a lot of blows before I could get into the coach,” he told Globo.

The club issued a statement condemning the incident, which came five months after fans invaded training facilities of Sao Paulo side Corinthians and attacked players after a loss to Santos.

Rio side Botafogo also saw angry fans descend on a recent training session.

“There have been various such cases in our country but we have to take them seriously. Yesterday it happened to me — but it could happen to anybody,” said Santos.