Top-flight Argentine football club Deportivo Riestra has faced criticism after fielding an influencer in a league match on Monday (11 November) to promote an energy drink.
Ivan Buhajeruk, known as Spreen, was announced in the line-up ahead of Deportivo Riestra’s league match against league leaders Velez Sarsfield. The influencer played for 50 seconds and reportedly never touched the ball.
Spreen, who has 7.75m subscribers on YouTube at the time of this article, signed a professional contract with the club in February. This was done as an advertising campaign driven by Victor Stinfale, owner of both the club and the energy drink brand which is Deportivo Riestra’s main sponsor.
Cristian Fabbiani, Manager of Deportivo Riestrea, told the opposition’s head coach about the plan to play the YouTuber, stating that he didn’t want to seem disrespectful.
Fabbiani said: “I told him that he was going to play due to a contract issue, that the club depends a lot on publicity.”
Despite Fabbiani’s precautionary measures, supporters, players and pundits criticised the stunt. Argentina football legend Juan Sebastian Veron commented that it showed “a total lack of respect for football and footballers.”
Velez Sarsfield striker Braian Romero, who scored in the 1-1 result, said: “What happened today was a lack of respect for football, it is a wrong message to society, to kids who try hard. Football is not that: it is trying and failing and trying again.”
Sports organisations worldwide are increasingly using influencers to promote sponsorship deals, sell tickets and attract younger people. However, they have never been used in a competitive match at that level before.
Apart from the annual Soccer Aid competition, a charity match that sees ex-professional players play alongside celebrities, the closest football has come to seeing influencers play in a competitive setting is Hashtag United.
The Essex-based club was founded by YouTuber Spencer Owen in 2016. Owen documented the team’s rise in the lower levels of the English football pyramid and often fielded other YouTubers.
Looking away from football, Boxing is perhaps the sport that has been most hijacked by influencer athletes. For instance, this weekend former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson will take on YouTuber Jake Paul on Netflix.
In 2020, Insider Sport found out more about the rise of influencers in sport in an interview with Sam Fowler, Senior Account Manager at The Goat Agency. Fowler pointed out the growth boxing has seen from embracing this modern era – a trend that is still continuing four years later.
