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December 28 is the equivalent of April Fools' Day in many Spanish-speaking countries; it is called the Day of Holy Innocents' and it is common for people to play pranks on each other. Recently, in the soccer world, that has involved fans, media, and sometimes even players conspiring to trick everyone into thinking that people are moving teams, retiring, etc. Today, D.C. United was an unknowing participant in a prank played by Puebla FC and by one of their strikers, Matia Alustiza.
Informamos que el jugador Matías Alustiza @chavoalustiza ha rescindido su contrato para emigrar a la MLS. Le deseamos el mejor de los exitos
— Puebla F.C (@PueblaFC) December 28, 2013
@PueblaFC muchas gracias a todos le agradezco de corazón a toda la gente poblaba asta pronto👍👍👍👍
— Matias (@chavoalustiza) December 28, 2013
The Spanish-language version of ESPN FC fell for the joke, reporting that Alustiza was on his wait out of Puebla FC and on his way to D.C. United. However, an hour or so later, Alustiza let everyone know that it was all in good fun and that it was all a joke.
Perdón perdón sí se dieron cuenta que era por el día de los inocentes hay chavo para rato en el puebla👍👍👍
— Matias (@chavoalustiza) December 28, 2013
Just remember for next year: If you see any transfer rumors on December 28 next year, they are probably a fake.
