November 12, 2024, 5:43 PM
November 12, 2024, 5:43 PM
The Argentine club Deportivo Riestra apologized this Tuesday for having lined up the streamer Spreen yesterday in an official first division match and explained that it was a “marketing action” in order to “attract new audiences.”
“Yesterday, we had the opportunity to have the participation of Iván Buhajeruk, one of the most important influencers in Latin America, in the match against Vélez,” the club wrote through the social network inclusion of the 24-year-old young man, who has almost 20 million followers across his various social networks and who virtually identifies as ‘Spreen’.
“Unfortunately, this marketing action generated many negative opinions. We want to offer our most sincere apologies to those who felt offended,” added the statement, in response to the controversy generated in Argentina by the inclusion of the young man, who is not a soccer player and who was replaced at the minute of play.
Deportivo Riestra, whose match against Vélez Sarsfield ended in a 1-1 draw, explained that its intention was not to disrespect Argentine football or its rival, to whom it informed in advance of the decision to field 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.
The club cited in its explanation the president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, and his warning about the decrease in interest of the young European public in football, and highlighted that the intention of the inclusion of ‘Spreen’ in yesterday’s duel was ” “to capture new generations that today are projected on social networks through 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 Braian Romero, Vélez Sarsfield forward who started yesterday’s duel and who leads the first division’s scoring table.
In parallel with the strong social rejection and condemnations on social networks, the Ethics Committee of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) opened an investigation into the case considering that the inclusion of ‘Spreen’ in the first team of Deportivo Riestra 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 starting lineup of Deportivo Riestra with the number 47 on his shirt.
Coach Christian Fabbiani replaced him at 59 seconds with Gustavo Fernández and, far from being surprised by the change without even touching a ball, the ‘influencer’ applauded the “Los Malevos” supporters.
