A furor in Argentina

“Total disgrace”: first division team lines up an influencer

Influencer Ivan Buhajeruk (front center), better known as "Spreen", got a taste of first division football.(Bild: APA/AFP)

Argentinian first division club Deportivo Riestra fielded an influencer in a match against league leaders Velez Sarafield for PR reasons. The club was harshly criticized as a result and the national soccer association launched an investigation.

Influencer Ivan Buhajeruk, known by his pseudonym "Spreen", has ten million followers on Twitch and seven million on YouTube. But he is not a professional footballer.

That didn't stop Deportivo Riestra from ordering "Spreen" into the starting eleven in the league match against Sarafield (1:1). He was substituted in the second minute of the game - and without making contact with the ball.

(Bild: YouTube.com/MDANocicias)

According to the club itself, this was a PR stunt to attract attention - the action has been the subject of much discussion on the internet ever since. The media and protagonists of the league find it less exciting than many of "Spreen's" followers.

"Shameful", "total disgrace"
The action was "shameful", the newspaper "La Nacion" was outraged, while commentators on the channel "Tyc Sports" spoke of a "total disgrace". Former Argentinian team player Juan Sebastian Veron, currently president of Estudiantes de la Plata, criticized the PR stunt as a "complete lack of respect for soccer and footballers".

The move was also not well received by Riestra's opponents Sarafield. "It was a disrespect for soccer. It sends the wrong message to society and to all the kids out there who are working hard for their soccer dream," said annoyed striker Braian Romero.

The Argentine Football Association has now launched an investigation, as Riestra may have violated the code of ethics with the PR coup.