Streamer debut in Argentina's top flight causes indignation: 'Total lack of respect'
Streamer Spreen started for Deportivo Riestra against Vélez Sarfield and even though he was on the pitch for only a minute, the stunt provoked uproar in Argentina
There was a new name in the starting line-up as Deportivo Riestra took on Vélez Sarsfield in Argentina’s Primera División on Monday night. Streamer Spreen was selected in the team for the top-flight fixture in Buenos Aires. He didn’t touch the ball and was substituted after a minute, but his inclusion has sent shockwaves through Argentine football.
Spreen, a 24-year-old streamer with millions of followers on Twitch, Instagram and YouTube whose real name is Iván Buhajeruk, obtained his licence as a player several months ago and was registered with Deportivo Riestra last week.
After taking part in a couple of training sessions with the first team, it was decided he would make a brief came against Vélez. “The kid was respectful at training,” captain Milton Céliz said. “We laughed a lot.”
Not everybody was laughing, though. Deportivo Riestra’s players had to commit a foul in order for Spreen to be substituted and after the game, coach Cristian Fabbiani faced criticism from the media. “The only thing I can say is that Iván sells cans and that is how I am paid. So bring it on. We can’t lose our focus. In the squad we are clear about what we want [to achieve].”
The “cans” were a reference to energy drink manufacturer Speed, the main sponsor of Deportivo Riestra. Spreen will not play again for the Buenos Aires club, who are in Argentina’s top flight for the first time in their history. But Fabbiani added: “The marketing with Spreen helps Riestra a lot.”
Spreen’s brief appearance on the pitch was met with a barrage of criticism and condemnation in Argentina, where millions of young boys dream of one day becoming professional footballers.
“The message is for the kids on the other side: today television showed you a shortcut that is not that; today was a lack of respect towards football. It’s the wrong message to give to society and to the kids, to those who try until the end and can’t [make it],” Vélez striker Braian Romero said after the game.
And he added: “From my place, I want to tell you that this is not the way, and that you should keep trying, because football is that: trying, failing, trying, failing, failing, trying, and continuing to try. Today we are showing a wrong message to the young players coming through.”
Former Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón, who is now president of Estudiantes de La Plata, was also critical. “A total lack of respect to football and to the footballers,” he wrote on Instagram. And Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said: “I didn’t like it at all. For the good of football, it can’t happen again.”
The Argentine Football Association’s (AFA) Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into Deportivo Riestra following the events of Monday night and after the backlash, the club posted an apology on Tuesday for a “marketing action that generated many negative opinions” in Argentina and beyond. “We want to offer our sincerest apologies to those who felt offended,” Riestra said, adding that they were hoping to “attract the new generations on social media through influencers” such as Spreen.
It is not the first time the club has courted controversy for a strange selection. In a cup game against Newell’s last May, Riestra fielded Mateo Apolonio at the age of just 14 years and 29 days, making the left-sided player the second-youngest player in the history of Argentine football. He has not made an appearance since.
Apolonio may go on to enjoy a successful career, but Spreen’s participation is something different and opens up a dangerous precedent which could easily be copied by other clubs looking to make a quick buck. Is that the future? Let’s hope not.