The Argentine club Deportivo Riestra apologized this Tuesday for having lined up the streamer Spreen in an official first division match on Monday and explained that it was a “marketing action” in order to “attract new audiences.”
“Yesterday, we had the opportunity to have the participation of Ivan Buhajeruk, one of the most important ‘influencers’ in Latin America, in the match against Vélez,” the club wrote through the social network is virtually identified as ‘Spreen’.
“Unfortunately this marketing action generated many negative opinions. We would like to offer our most sincere apologies to those who were offended,” added the club in the statement, in response to the controversy generated in Argentina by the inclusion in the starting lineup of the ‘influencer’, who is not a footballer and who was replaced one minute into the match.
Deportivo Riestra, whose match against the leader Vélez Sarsfield ended in a draw (1-1), explained that His intention was not to disrespect Argentine football nor to his rival, to whom he communicated in advance the decision to align the ‘influencer’.
“Our objective was (and is) to attract new audiences to football, generating bridges between different worlds and platforms to continue promoting the product and our club, experiencing a historic moment in the First Division,” revealed the institution, which arrived this year at the first division of Argentine football for the first time in its history and is ninth in the Professional League.
Allusion to Florentino Pérez
The club cited the president of Real Madrid in its explanation, Florentino Pérez, and his warning about the decline of interest among young European audiences in football, and highlighted that the intention of including ‘Spreen’ in the match was “capture new generations that today are projected on social networks from influencers”.
The case generated a strong controversy in the country and triggered the condemnation of numerous Argentine soccer figures, including Juan Sebastián Verón, president of Estudiantes de la Plata; Marcos Acuña, footballer for River Plate and the Argentine national team; and Brian RomeroVélez Sarsfield forward who started the match in question and is among the top scorers in the championship.
AFA investigation
In parallel with the strong social rejection and condemnations on social networks, The Ethics Committee of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) opened an investigation on the case considering that the inclusion of ‘Spreen’ in the Deportivo Riestra first team could represent “conduct likely to harm the reputation and integrity of Argentine football.”
Buhajeruk obtained his license as a professional player less than three months ago and this Monday he was included in the Deportivo Riestra starting lineup with the number 47 on his shirt.
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The technician Christian Fabbiani He replaced it at 59 seconds by Gustavo Fernandez And, far from being surprised by the change without even touching a ball, the ‘influencer’ applauded the ‘Maleo’ supporters.
