Internet pranksters have tampered with the names of Spain's most famous football stadiums on Google Maps following a hack. La Liga heavyweights Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have all had their stadium names altered after a string of cyberattacks.
Hacked Stadium Names
Anyone searching for Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Spotify Camp Nou or Riyadh Air Metropolitano was greeted with the hackers' handiwork. In Madrid's instance, examples included 'Mbappe Dictator' and 'Tchouameni's Knockout.' The latter appeared to reference a training ground incident involving midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and teammate Fede Valverde. According to La Razon, the alterations weren't instantly visible but supporters would first see the proper name before, upon zooming in, seeing the new names.
Hackers also dubbed the Bernabeu 'Barcelona Training Ground' after the capital club came up short against their fierce rivals this term. When Barca secured victory in the second league Clasico of the campaign earlier in May, the win ensured they would finish the season as La Liga champions.
Barcelona and Atletico Targets
Barcelona's venue was labelled 'Negreira' by the hackers, alluding to former Spanish refereeing chief Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. Atleti's, meanwhile, was christened 'Antarctica' in relation to the club's reputation for lacking intensity under Diego Simeone and their perceived bottling in major finals.
It is believed hackers exploited security vulnerabilities or editing tools to carry out the alterations. No group immediately claimed responsibility, though fans wasted little time highlighting the mischief by sharing screenshots on social media.
Real Madrid's Troubled Campaign
The reports of unrest on the training ground, referenced in the 'Tchouameni's Knockout' name, come amid a troubled campaign for Real Madrid. The club axed manager Xabi Alonso just months into his tenure, and interim boss Alvaro Arbeloa has so far been unable to spark a revival.
Premier Sports commentator Terry Gibson told the Daily Star ahead of the recent Clasico: "It's not great that they're fighting amongst each other. I have seen that on a number of occasions, I was involved in it with teammates over the years, but it was normally resolved within minutes. This was over two days, so that's unusual - to have a disagreement one day and then it's continuing, even more violently, the next day is highly unusual."
Gibson added: "So it is the times we live in with Real Madrid. If you don't win trophies, everything is magnified. And as I say, it's multiplied because Barcelona - everything's just going smoothly for Barcelona!"
