Death of second bullfighter in a year causes grief and controversy

The world of bullfighting was in mourning earlier this month after the death of a well-known bullfighter. Iván Fandiño was killed on Saturday during a fight in the village of Aire-sur-lAdour, in southwestern France, after he tripped up and was gorged in the ribs by the bulls horns.

After being transferred to hospital, doctors were unable to save his life, saying to reporters that he had died after irreparable damage to vital organs.

Despite the danger faced by matadors in bullfights, it is rare for one to be fatally injured. The death of 36-year-old Fandiño, however, is the second in a year to hit the close bullfighting community. Last July, 29-year-old Víctor Barrio was killed in a fight in Teruel, Aragón, in what was the first fatality of a matador so far this century. Prior to that the last death of a Spanish bullfighter was in 1985 and only seven have been killed in the last 50 years.

The death shocked people involved in the bullfighting industry, especially coming so soon after the loss of Barrios last year . The head of the bullfighting school in Guadalajara where Fandiño had studied, José Antonio Cid, said he had received news of his death with sadness, because its a shock, a tremendous blow to the world of bulls.

In 2015, Fandiño had said in a press interview, I have an appointment with history. If I have to die, I will die free. On Fandiños Twitter account a message was posted saying, People come and go but deeds remain and your strength is an example.

Although there were many messages of condolence on social media, a large amount were critical of the bullfighter and bullfighting in general, including many insults. Bullfighting supporters called for the police to get involved after some of the more offensive comments.

Condemnation of slurs

Celebrity bullfighter Fran Rivera, whose own father, Paquirri, was killed in a bullfight in 1984, was visibly shaken when appearing on television to denounce the comments. On his Twitter account he had already said: I [strongly condemn] all the bad people who are pleased by the death of a good man!!!

Iván Fandiño was born in the Basque country and studied bullfighting in Guadalajara, qualifying to fight officially in 2005. In recent years, he had become a well-known personality in the bullfighting world and was a sought-after name on the line up for the biggest events.

His death reignited the debate this week across much of the national medias talk shows about the role of bullfighting in modern Spanish life.