News Americas, New York, NY, November 14, 2024: Argentinian soccer club Deportivo Riestra are facing backlash after they started popular YouTuber Ivan Buhajeruk – known as Spreen – to play briefly in a professional league match against Velez Sarsfield.
Despite his lack of professional football experience, the 24-year-old was signed to a contract by Riestra and played just 50 seconds before being sent off without touching the ball. Buhajeruk, who has over seven million subscribers on YouTube, was included in the line-up as part of a marketing move backed by club owner and energy drink company sponsor Victor Stinfale. The decision sparked backlash, with one Tyc Sports commentator calling it “a total disgrace”, criticizing the YouTuber’s inexperience on the pitch.
Riestra captain Milton Celiz confirmed that the idea came from Stinfale, emphasizing Buhajeruk’s popularity as a broadcaster. Coach Cristian Fabbiani also admitted he had informed Velez’s manager of the unusual line-up before the match, calling it a back-to-back promotional deal.
Buhajeruk, however, took the look in stride, jokingly posting online that he was “undefeated” and joking about discussing a “Minecraft update” with teammates.
About Buhajeruk
Iván Raúl Buhajeruk Fernández, 24, was born in Santo Tomé, Santa Fe, Argentina. He is known online as Spreen and is a popular Argentine Twitch streamer and YouTuber. He began his online career in 2015 on YouTube, later expanding to Twitch, where he gained a large following through gaming content, tutorials and vlogs, fostering a close community with his audience.
In 2023, Spreen was nominated for Content Creator of the Year, beating out notable streamers like ElRubius and IlloJuan. By mid-2022, his Twitch channel had over 6,700 paid subscribers, with an additional 4.4 million subscribers on YouTube.
On September 22, 2024, Spreen switched to the Kick streaming platform, attracted by its higher profit potential. He shared that a single live stream on Kick could generate as much revenue as he previously earned in a month on Twitch, providing him with greater financial stability and the ability to pursue larger creative projects.
