The club must apologize publicly

Argentine football is a box of surprises, but this time it was surpassed: the Ethics Court of the AFA sanctioned Deportivo Riestra with a fine of 20,000,000 pesos after the streamer’s controversial debut Ivan Spreen Buhajeruk in the match against Vélez on matchday 22 of the last tournament. The reason? A play that many described as a “media show” that ended up affecting the image of local soccer.

The 22-year-old, known to millions on social media for his video game streams, He was included in Riestra’s starting team for the match against Vélez. Spreen’s debut lasted barely a breath: after the first infraction of the match, coach Cristian Fabbiani replaced him, unleashing a wave of criticism.

The AFA took action on the matter and, after an investigation, decided to fine the Bajo Flores club with the equivalent of 20,000 general tickets. Besides, The ruling orders Riestra to publish an official apology in national media to “repair the damage caused.”

But that was not all: The Court also issued formal warnings to Fabbiani and Spreen himself for their participation in the events. According to the official statement, the aim is to emphasize the ethical responsibility that falls on all actors in professional football.

“This warning is intended to emphasize the ethical obligation to preserve and promote the fundamental values ​​that support this activity.”such as transparency, sporting merit and the integrity of the competition,” the text states.

Iván Raúl Buhajeruk, known as Spreen, was born on October 11, 2000 in Santo Tomé, Santa Fe. From a very young age he showed interest in creativity and technology, starting his path on YouTube at the age of 12, where he uploaded Minecraft videos.

Over the years, Spreen became one of the most popular Spanish-speaking streamersbecoming among the three most watched in the world in 2023, only behind giants like Ibai Llanos and Auronplay. It currently has 7,000,000 subscribers on YouTube and 10,000,000 on Twitch.

But his relationship with football is not new. A fan of Colón de Santa Fe, Spreen even sponsored his club’s shirt this yearuniting his two passions: streaming and football.

– Impose on the Riestra Sports Club a fine equivalent to 1,000 (thousand), in accordance with the provisions of Article 13 of the AFA Code of Ethics.-

– Formal warning to technical director Cristian Fabbiani, due to his participation in the events that motivated this ruling.

– Formal warning to Mr. Iván Buhajeruk, by virtue of his active participation in the events that led to this ruling.

– Order the Riestra Sports Club to publish an official public apology in national media, in order to repair the damage caused by the reproached conduct.

Cristian Fabbiani, former footballer and current Riestra coach, He was held responsible for the decision to include Spreen in the team. At the time, the Ogre justified the move as “an innovative gesture to bring young audiences closer to football.” However, the experiment did not go as expected and now he must face the consequences.

The episode divided opinions: while some defend the initiative as an attempt to modernize football, others see it as a lack of respect for the competition and professional players.

The truth is that the Spreen case will be marked as a unique episode in the history of Argentine football, a mix of media spectacle and sport that ended with a strong blow to Deportivo Riestra’s pocket and a wake-up call for all those involved.

Lesson learned or just another chapter in the saga of Argentine football? Time will tell if this episode will serve to reflect on the limits between innovation and sports ethics.