Fans at Racing Club's El Cilindro home in Argentina received a surprise on Tuesday when one bereaved supporter scattered his friend's ashes from the top tier of the stadium.
The Argentine season kicked off in February with the beginning of the Copa de la Superliga competition, following two months off for the summer break.
Even though it is early in the year, it appears 2022 already has a leading contender for most bizarre moment of the campaign thanks to this unorthodox send-off.
Ashes to ashes
Racing, currently coached by ex-Boca Juniors and Real Madrid ace Fernando Gago, had few problems in seeing off Argentinos Juniors to record their first win of the season.
Goals from Javier Correa, Carlos Alcaraz and Enzo Copetti secured a straightforward 3-0 victory to end Argentinos' perfect start to the Copa.
It was only after the final whistle, though, that an unusual side story came to light.
A Twitter user present at the game shared a picture of a box from Burzaco Crematorium, and revealed that it had fallen on her from above after being showered with a mysterious sand-like substance throughout.
Another user supplied video footage of the fan enthusiastically scattering the ashes of the deceased, who according to the information on the box was named Alejandro Fabian Alvarez and passed away on February 21.
Til death do us part...
Tuesday's episode was not the first time that a Racing fan has come to the fore for such a reason.
In 2019, after the club won the Superliga, Gabriel Aranda joined celebrations in the centre of Buenos Aires holding the skull of his late grandfather.
"I brought my grandfather, Valentin. I took him out of his vault for the whole time Racing were playing," Aranda explained to TNT Sports. "He is my good luck charm. He is proud because I took him out."
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