An Argentine football club sparked outrage within the country’s football community after including an influencer with no professional experience in their starting lineup for a top-flight match.
Deportivo Riestra selected a streamer known as “Spreen” for their match against Primera Division leaders Velez Sarsfield on Monday, only to substitute the 24-year-old after just 78 seconds, having not touched the ball.
Riestra’s post on X announcing Spreen’s inclusion in the lineup garnered 3.4 million views, a stark contrast to the typical few thousand views for a regular match.
The move has drawn heavy criticism from football figures across Argentina.
Juan Sebastian Veron, the former Manchester United and Argentina midfielder and current president of Estudiantes de La Plata, condemned a “total lack of respect for football and footballers”.
Velez striker Braian Romero also spoke of a “lack of respect towards football”, as well as a “bad message sent to society, to children, to those who try until the end” to break into the sport.
Riestra captain Milton Celiz said: “He’s a friend of the club, he has a contract… let him enjoy it, everyone would like to play in the first division.”
But Celiz added that he “understands the criticism”, though the decision was “not our responsibility (as players), it’s a matter for the owners (of the club)”.
“At no time was it our intention to disrespect Club Atletico de Velez Sarsfield or Argentinian football,” Riestra said in a statement, also pointing out that Velez had been informed of the initiative the week before the match.
“Our objective was (and is) to attract new audiences to football, to build bridges between different worlds and platforms, to continue strengthening the product (football) and our club, which is experiencing a historic moment in the First Division.”
Riestra were promoted to the top flight last season after climbing five divisions in the last 10 years.
The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) has asked its ethics committee to investigate “possible conduct that could damage Argentinian football’s reputation for integrity”.