From hero to enemy: the ice cream vendor goalkeeper who has stained Sabadell's promotion

BarcelonaThere are goalkeepers, like Vozinha, who occupy newspaper pages for their great performances in matches. On the other hand, there are others who appear for negative reasons. This is the case of Diego Fuoli, who, although he could have made it into the media for his great season with Sabadell – 27 goals conceded in 37 matches in the Primera Federació and 21 clean sheets in the regular league – has ended up doing so after controversial statements from the balcony of the Sabadell City Council (governed by the PSC) during the celebration of the promotion to the Second Division.

Fuoli pronounced the name of Pedro Sánchez and asked the fans to continue in whatever way they wanted, which led to insults towards the current Spanish president. These were statements that surprised the arlequinat club, which did not expect this type of comment. The Aragonese goalkeeper – known for his sense of humor – had not been involved in other controversies. Sabadell, who visited Parliament this Monday, with Fuoli included, issued a statement in which they rejected and regretted the events.

Fuoli also apologized through a statement published on his social networks. "As a result of the euphoria of the moment and what I have experienced in recent days, I got carried away and what at that time seemed like a harmless joke has become a giant snowball," he wrote on X. An action that could have several consequences for him. The Federation of Neighborhood Associations (FAV) of Sabadell has reported the footballer to the Sabadell duty court for an alleged hate crime. In addition, it has also addressed the City Council so that he be declared persona non grata and has urged the arlequinada entity to open a "forceful" disciplinary proceeding against him.

Ice cream family in Zaragoza

Born in Zaragoza on October 20, 1997, the goalkeeper is part of a family known for having several ice cream shops in the Aragonese capital, but also in La Rioja and Cantabria. In fact, as an anecdote, Diego Fuoli's mother came to watch the play-offs at the Nova Creu Alta and brought ice cream for the squad.

He was trained in Villarreal's youth academy – where he learned Valencian – and in the summer of 2020, he signed for Sabadell, who had just been promoted to the Second Division. However, the goalkeeping position was occupied by Ian Mackay, who was a starter in 41 out of 42 matches. Fuoli only managed to play against Almeria (a 1-2 defeat) and in the second round of the Copa del Rey, where the Arlequinat team was eliminated on penalties (2-0) after a goalless draw at the end of extra time against Penya Deportiva.

After this first spell at Nova Creu Alta, Fuoli moved to Almeria's reserve team, where he played minutes in the Tercera Federación and was called up for several matches in the Primera and Segunda División with the Andalusian first team, although he only played minutes in the first round of the Copa del Rey (a 2-0 defeat against Arenteiro).

In the summer of 2023, he signed for San Fernando in the Primera Federación, where he conceded 45 goals in 37 matches and kept a clean sheet on ten occasions. The following year, he tried his luck at Tarazona, also in the Primera Federación. There, he completed a great season, conceding 30 goals in 34 games and keeping 15 clean sheets. These good numbers led Sabadell to take an interest in him again at the start of the season.

At Nova Creu Alta, he has raised his performance and has been an important figure in achieving promotion to the Second Division. His great performances with Ferran Costa's team have awakened the interest of Zaragoza, who already wanted him in case of remaining in the silver category and hope to sign him despite the relegation, according to Aragonese media.