Anger in Argentina as social media influencer starts top-flight football match

Argentine club Deportivo Riestra have been branded "shameful" and a "disgrace" for playing a social media influencer against league leaders Velez Sarsfield before substituting him in the first minute.

Ivan Buhajeruk, better known as Spreen, has no professional football experience but was named in the starting line-up by head coach Cristian Fabbiani in an apparent advertising stunt to promote an energy drink with ties to the club ownership.

'Spreen', who has more than 7 million subscribers on YouTube, has replaced after just 50 seconds as TyC Sports commentators delivered a scathing assessment of his performance.

"He doesn't even know where to stand ... it's unbelievable," one commentator said. "This is shameful, it's a total disgrace."

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.

Manager Fabbiani told a local radio station that he had spoken to Velez coach Gustavo Quinteros ahead of the match - which ended 1-1 - 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".