A FORMER Rangers player has been warned by police that his life is in danger.

Glentoran's Nacho Novo has reportedly been told by officers that threats to his life have been graded as 'severe'.

It is claimed that the 37-year-old, who plays for the semi-professional Northern Ireland football club, has since been given security tips and advice on how to make his daily routine less predictable for those who may target him.

Stephen Henderson, Glentoran's club chairman, praised the striker's courage for not allowing himself to be intimidated on Saturday's game against Ards.

He told The Sun on Sunday: "We were contacted by the Police Service of Northern Ireland last week and informed a death threat had been made against one of our players.

"This is obviously a very serious situation and we gave the player as much help and support as we could.

"This included him missing training sessions in order to facilitate his own personal security.

"For anyone who experiences this sort of situation there is obviously shock and grave concern that such a thing is brought to their door.

"Over the course of time, however, he has shown a very deep sense of character in terms of playing football.

"We all know the famous Bill Shankly quote about football being more important than life or death.

"There's no doubt he said that with tongue in cheek- but this situation has reiterated there are many, many more important things than football.

"We're extremely saddened by this development. We are a cross-community football club for whom religion plays no part in sport, nor does politics.

"Unfortunately, it's symptomatic of a part of our society which has impinged on us in the game. According to the police the threat level has been graded as 'moderate' now, and we just want to move on.

"We are very disappointed the situation has occurred and we'll continue to give our player and employee as much support as we possibly can in such difficult circumstances."