Argentine club Deportivo Riestra were branded “shameful” and a “disgrace” after putting an influencer into the starting line-up for Monday’s top-flight game against leaders Velez Sarsfield before substituting him inside the first minute.

Ivan Buhajeruk, who is better known as Spreen and has more than 7 million subscribers on YouTube, has no professional football experience but was named as a striker in the side by coach Cristian Fabbiani.

The 24-year-old was subbed off after only 50 seconds during a break in play for a foul.

The lowly Buenos Aires club, who are known for their unconventional marketing strategies, gave Buhajeruk a professional contract and registered him with the Argentine FA in February.

Match commentators on local broadcaster Tyc Sports were scathing of Buhajeruk’s performance in the short time he was on the pitch.

“He doesn’t even know where to stand … it’s unbelievable,” one commentator said. “This is shameful, it’s a total disgrace.”

Fabbiani told a local radio station that he had spoken to Velez coach Gustavo Quinteros ahead of the match to tell him he did not want to disrespect anyone by naming Buhajeruk in the team.

“He laughed and told me to leave him for half an hour. It’s something contractual that was signed a long time ago and the club depends a lot on publicity … It was probably a one-time thing,” he added.

Former Argentina international Juan Sebastian Veron, now president of Argentine club Estudiantes de la Plata, was unimpressed by the publicity stunt.

“A total lack of respect for football and footballers,” he wrote on Instagram.

Argentine newspaper La Nacion wrote on its website: “How to disrespect the history and future of Argentine football in one minute”.

Riestra have enjoyed an impressive maiden campaign in the Primera Division and in ninth place, level on points with giants Boca Juniors.

Monday’s match ended 1-1.

-Reuters

A 39-year-old Peruvian footballer died after he was struck by lightning during a match on Nov 3, with four others left injured by the thunderbolt.

One of the goalkeepers who was injured in the incident is being treated for serious burns, while three other players aged 14, 16 and 24 are in stable condition at the hospital.

A football player was killed after he was struck by lightning in Peru during a match on Nov 3, with four others left injured by the accident. PHOTOS: ONDA DEPORTIVA HUANCAVELIC

The player who died was identified as Hugo De La Cruz, a defender for Juventud Bellavista.

The local municipality, in a statement reported by CNN, said: “We join in solidarity and extend our sincere condolences to the family of young Hugo De La Cruz, who, after being struck by lightning, unfortunately lost his life while being taken to the hospital.

“We also express our support and wishes for a speedy recovery to the other four players injured in this tragic accident.”

A spot on the ground where the lightning appears to have made contact after striking a football player during a match on Nov 3. PHOTO: ONDA DEPORTIVA HUANCAVELIC

The game was being played at Coto Coto stadium in the town of Chilca, about 70km south-east of the Peruvian capital Lima, and had just been ordered to pause due to the storm, CNN reported.

In video footage of the incident broadcast by local TV station Onda Deportiva Huancavelic, football players can be seen walking on the pitch in the 22nd minute of a match between local teams Juventud Bellavista and Familia Chocca.

A bright flash and loud sound is heard and one of the players is engulfed in smoke in what appears to be a small explosion.

In that instant, seven other players are seen to fall over at the same time as the players further away run offscreen. Following this, some of the players can be seen struggling to get to their feet.

The video then cuts to a spot on the ground where the lightning appears to have struck, with footage from earlier in the match where thunder can be heard rumbling.

How were the other players injured?

Lightning can produce what is known as a ground current when it strikes the ground or an object on the ground, said the United States National Weather Service website.

The discharge of electricity then occurs in and along the ground surface, creating the dangerous and potentially deadly ground current near where the lightning strikes.

This phenomenon is responsible for “many lightning deaths and injuries”, as well as the deaths of many farm animals.

The local authorities believe Mr De La Cruz may have been struck by the bolt of lightning because of a metal bracelet he was wearing at the time, with an official saying it was “like a magnet”, reported British daily The Telegraph.

In February, an Indonesian footballer died after being struck by lightning during a match at the Siliwangi Stadium in the city of Bandung, about 150km south of Jakarta.

In a similar incident in Singapore more than two decades ago, Jiang Tao, an 18-year-old player with the now-defunct Chinese S-League club Sinchi FC, was killed in March 2004 after he was struck by lightning during training at the Jurong Stadium, which has since been demolished.

-Strait Times

A soccer team consisting entirely of transgender men has debuted in a regional league in Spain, overcoming administrative challenges and prejudice to become the first all-trans squad to achieve federated status in Europe.

The team, named Fenix FC after the mythical bird symbolising rebirth, played some friendlies and seven-a-side games last season but now competes in the fifth tier in the northwestern region of Catalonia after being incorporated into a local club in the Barcelona suburb of Sant Feliu de Llobregat.

Spain passed a pioneering trans rights bill last year designed to make it easier to change a person’s legal gender identity. But intolerance persists, with a record 302 cases of discrimination or violence against LGBT people in Catalonia in 2023, a quarter of which targeted transgender victims, according to data compiled by the region’s Observatory against LGBTphobia.

Hugo Martinez, 24, told Reuters he faced abuse when he began transitioning with gender-affirming hormone therapy and was forced to leave the women’s soccer team in which he had played.

“I was a boy playing in the girls’ team, but without a changed ID, so I wasn’t yet allowed to play with boys,” he said, recounting how other players, coaches and parents in the stands often hurled insults and threats at him.

The experience prompted Martinez to put out a call online for other trans men seeking to play soccer in a safe environment. Setting up Fenix FC took three years.

‘SAFE SPACE’

Captain Luke Ibanez, 19, said he was hesitant about playing for a team with cisgender – or non-trans – men, as he feared he would not fit in or even suffer violence. So when Martinez told him about his idea for an all-trans side, he quickly jumped on board.

“Fenix is a team of trans boys created entirely by trans boys, but I think it’s more than that – a family, a safe space where you can be free and express yourself however you want and how you really feel.”

In response to Reuters’ emailed questions about their current policy, the Catalan FA said its men’s leagues have been mixed for the past two seasons, meaning players of any gender can participate regardless of their official identity.

Players may also choose to use a name that’s different from their legal one, it added. Other regional FAs have limited these modifications up to a certain age group, while the rules vary in other sports.

Fenix’s first game of the season on Sept. 21 ended with a 19-0 defeat. But for its fans and players, trans men having the right to play their favourite sport on equal terms is far more important than the score.

-Reuters