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

BarcelonaThere are goalkeepers, like Vozinha, who fill newspaper pages for their great performances in matches. On the other hand, there are others who make headlines for negative reasons. This is the case of Diego Fuoli, who, although he could have made 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 on the balcony of the Sabadell City Council (governed by the PSC) during the celebration of promotion to the Second Division.

Fuoli pronounced the name of Pedro Sánchez and asked the fans to continue in any way they wanted, which led to insults towards the current Spanish president. These were statements that surprised the arlequinat club, which did not expect such comments. The Aragonese goalkeeper – known for his sense of humor – had not been involved in other controversies. Sabadell, which visited Parliament this Monday, with Fuoli included, issued a statement in which it 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 moment 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 court of first instance for an alleged hate crime. Furthermore, it has also addressed the City Council to declare him persona non grata and has urged the arlequinada entity to open a "forceful" disciplinary file against him.

Ice cream family in Zaragoza

Born in Zaragoza on October 20, 1997, the goalkeeper is part of a family known for owning several ice cream parlors 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.

Trained in the Villarreal youth system – where he learned Valencian – 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, in which the 'arlequinat' team lost on penalties (2-0) after a goalless draw at the end of extra time against Peña Deportiva.

After this first spell at Nova Creu Alta, Fuoli moved to Almeria's reserve team, where he got minutes in the Tercera Federación and was called up for several First and Second Division matches with the Andalusian first team, although he only played 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, with 30 goals conceded in 34 appearances and 15 clean sheets. These good numbers led Sabadell to take an interest in him again at the beginning of the season.

At the 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 sparked the interest of Zaragoza, who already wanted him in case of permanence in the silver category and hope to sign him despite the relegation, according to Aragonese media reports.