Santiago (Chile), May 27: Colombian star Faustino Asprilla fired two gunshots into the air - apparently blanks - while jokingly urging his Universidad de Chile teammates to try harder during a training session, radio cooperativa reported. The club's president, Rene Orozco, last night confirmed the incident. But he said "it was just a joke, there were blank shots and it was not a real pistol."

Orozco angrily rejected suggestions by local radio reports that Asprilla was drunk at the time of the incident - around 9 am local time.

Asprilla, injured and unable to practice, arrived at training and drew a gun and fired twice, urging his teammates to run and work harder, according to the radio. Radio reporter Juan Luis Valdes said the shots were apparently blanks, as no bullet shells were found.

He said Asprilla left the training camp immediately after the shooting.

Coach Victor Castaneda and the other players refused to comment on the incident.

Castaneda said only that Asprilla had been spared from the weekend match and yesterday's session because he was recovering from an unspecified leg injury. Bureau Report