Argentina
Football club appoints influencer – and immediately replaces him
In Argentina, an influencer was allowed to play for a first division team – and left the field after less than a minute. Critics speak of “disrespect”.
The Argentine first division club Deportivo Riestra had an unusual debut on matchday 22. One player who was in the starting line-up had never played professional football before, but was anything but an unknown.
Influencer Ivan Buhajeruk, known online as “Spreen”, is a real star online. Millions follow him on Twitch, YouTube and Instagram. Now he was allowed to play in the game against league leaders Velez Sarafield. Deportivo Riestra and of course the streamer himself had announced this to the public. But the football interlude turned into a farce.
Argentina: Influencer is allowed to play in a first division game
Buhajeruk was in the starting line-up, but after just 50 seconds the 24-year-old was taken off the field by the coach. Until he was substituted, he had not touched the ball once. Apparently a teammate even intentionally committed a foul to make the early substitution possible. The whole campaign quickly turned out to be a marketing stunt – and left many disappointed faces in the stands.
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Because with the use of the influencer, Riestra attracted many young fans to the stadium. But they only had the pleasure of seeing their idol on the pitch for a short time. Braian Romero from opponent Velez Sarafield called the action “a disrespect for football”: “It sends the wrong message to society and to all the children out there who work hard for their football dream.” Former Argentine football star Juan Sebastian Veron, now an official, also spoke of a “complete lack of respect for football and footballers”.
Influencer Buhajeruk and the club defend themselves
The PR move is now being investigated by the Argentine Football Association‘s ethics committee. The unusual effort came about through the main sponsor of Deportivo Riestra, an energy drink manufacturer. Influencer Buhajeruk defended himself: “I didn’t take anyone’s place, but if anyone felt disrespected in any way, I would like to apologize. That was not our intention at all.”
Deportivo Riestra emphasized in a statement that the deployment had been agreed with the opponent and explained that they wanted to “win new spectators for football”. Today, young people can be reached primarily through influencers.
Sources: Sky News, Deportivo Riestra
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