Authorities are investigating Deportivo Riestra‘s inclusion of influencer Ivan “Spreen” Buhajeruk in a match, amid concerns over possible illegal betting links.
Argentine top-flight club Deportivo Riestra faced criticism on Monday (11 November) for fielding an influencer in a league match against league leaders Velez Sarsfield. Argentina football legend Juan Sebastian Veron said it showed “a total lack of respect for football and footballers.”
The marketing strategy is now under further scrutiny, as the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office for Gambling (FEJA) has launched an investigation into streamer Ivan “Spreen” Buhajeruk’s participation in the match.
As part of this investigation, the FEJA has instructed the Judicial Investigations Corps (CIJ) to gather evidence, but as of now, none of the involved parties, including Spreen, the club’s owner and other officials, have been called to testify. The investigation is focused on potential links to illegal betting.
Additionally, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) also stated that its Ethics Committee will investigate “all those conducts likely to damage the reputation and integrity of Argentine football, particularly when it is illegal, immoral, or lacking ethical principles.”
As reported by SBC Noticias, Deportivo Riestra did not address the allegations of betting links but explained that Spreen’s inclusion in the match was meant to “attract new audiences to football, generating bridges between different worlds and platforms to continue promoting the product and our club, living a historic moment in the First Division.”
Argentinian influencer 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 that the social media influencer was said to be advertising.
Spreen started the game and played just 50 seconds before being subbed off without touching the ball.
The decision to play the YouTuber seems to only be supported by Stinfale. Riestra’s manager Cristan Fabbiani told the opposition’s coach about the plan ahead of the match, with concerns that it would look 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.”
Spreen’s cameo was also criticised by opposition players, as 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.”
