Valencia fan detained in Singapore over football protest

A Spanish couple on their honeymoon in Singapore have been detained in the country after protesting against the Singaporean owners of a football club they support.

Dani Cuesta posted a photo of himself outside the home of Peter Lim, the billionaire owner of Valencia Football Club, holding a banner criticizing the business magnate.

Valencia Mayor María José Catalá told Spain’s Onda Cero radio station that Mr Cuesta and his partner Mireia Sáez were stopped and their passports confiscated as they tried to leave Singapore’s airport on Friday.

Singapore police told the BBC that the pair were assisting an ongoing investigation into alleged crimes involving “participating in public gatherings”.

Singapore has the world’s strictest laws on public gatherings, including gatherings of one person.

The government says the laws are necessary to maintain order and security.

In 2020, a Singaporean activist who had long fought for freedom of speech was arrested Arrested for taking photo with smiley face placard.

Shortly after arriving in Singapore on Thursday, Mr Cuesta posted on X that he would “take a photo with my lovely flag” which read “Lim Go Home”.

Mr Lim is popular with Valencia fans, who have seen the club’s fortunes plummet during his ten-year tenure.

Encouraged by friends online, Mr Cuesta posted a series of photos of himself holding yellow banners at various tourist attractions in Singapore.

Another photo shows him outside a luxury residential complex in Singapore where Mr Lim is believed to live.

A video he posted showed Mr. Cuesta placing a yellow sticker on the door of his home that read “Lin is Out” – a common sight in the city of Valencia.

The photos quickly went viral among Valencia fans and Mr Cuesta even gave a light-hearted interview to the Valencia Football Podcast on Thursday.

He explained that when his wife suggested going to Singapore, he had the idea and decided to take the banner and some stickers and put them on lampposts around the city.

“I told her ‘this is what I have to do’… Maybe it means nothing, but it sends the message that we don’t want these people to stay in Valencia,” Mr Cuesta told Tribune Sport 》.

“I haven’t been detained yet,” he joked. “My wife has been reading up on Singapore’s laws – she’s looking forward to going through immigration tomorrow.”

Earlier in the day, Mr Cuesta joked on X that he didn’t want to “end up in a Singapore jail because that’s not how I would spend my honeymoon”.

The mayor of Valencia said that the next day, Singaporean authorities stopped Mr Cuesta and Ms Saz as they tried to board a flight to Bali.

“[The Spanish embassy in Singapore] It is confirmed that two people have had their passports confiscated due to ongoing police investigations,” Ms Catara told Spanish radio station Onda Cero.

“They can leave the hotel, but they can’t leave the country,” she added.

Meanwhile, Valencia Football Club said it was aware of the situation of two of the club’s supporters in Singapore.

“Valencia FC and La Liga are in contact with the Spanish Embassy in Singapore, who has assured us that both parties will receive all necessary advice and assistance to resolve this matter as soon as possible,” the club said in a statement.

Spain’s foreign ministry told the BBC that its embassy in Singapore was “providing assistance to those affected and maintaining ongoing contact with their families”.

Mr Lim, one of Singapore’s richest men, acquired Valencia Football Club in 2014, becoming the first foreign owner in the club’s history.

After an initial honeymoon period, he quickly fell out of favor with fans as performances declined and the club racked up huge debts off the pitch.

Valencia have traditionally been a team that has challenged for the domestic and European titles but currently sit third from bottom in the league.

Mr Lam has been criticized in particular for his friendship with Portuguese “superagent” Jorge Mendes and his alleged influence on the club’s recruitment of players and coaches.

Another colleague of Mr Lam’s is former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, with whom he co-owned English lower league club Salford City until earlier this year.

Despite having no managerial experience, Mr Neville was appointed Valencia manager in 2015 but was sacked four months later after a disastrous coaching career.

Valencia fans group Libertad VCF said in a statement that it had “full support and solidarity” with the newlyweds and called for their “immediate release”.

“Their freedom of movement was violated simply for the peaceful exercise of their right to expression,” the statement added.