A Spanish bullfighter was gored to death in 2017 after tripping over his own cape.
Ivan Fandiño was a veteran matador and was taking part in the Aire-sur-l’Adour bullfighting festival in southwest France when the incident occurred.
The 36-year-old was rushed to hospital after he was gored in the ring, but did not survive while his chilling final words later revealed.
Fandiño, originally from the Basque country, had been a matador for 12 years and was known for his willingness to confront bulls that others deemed too dangerous.
Before his injury, he had already taken part in a competition earlier that day.
The matador and father had caught his feet in his cloak and fell to the floor where he was gored by the half-tonne bull.
The animal’s horn pierced a number of vital organs in Fandiño’s torso, including his lungs.
Photographs at the time showed him conscious as he was led away from the ring while bleeding heavily.
French media reported that he then died on his way to hospital from a heart attack.
As he was being rushed away, his harrowing final words were reportedly: “Hurry up, I’m dying.”
Matador Juan del Alamo, who later killed the bull, said at the time: “I can’t believe it. None of us understand how it could have happened; it was all so fast. The bull knocked him down with its hindquarters and he fell face down.”
Fandiño had been injured in the ring at least twice before. In 2015, he was thrown into the air by a bull in Pamplona, Spain. And more seriously, the year before, he had been knocked unconscious in Bayonne, France.
It was reported that Fandiño was the first matador to die in France in a century. The country’s France’s Sud-Ouest newspaper said Isidoro Mari Fernando was its last, when he died in the arena in Béziers in 1921.
Fandiño was honoured by the Spanish royal family and prime minister at the time with King Felipe tweeting a tribute to a ‘great bullfighter figure’.
The matador’s death came nearly a year after Spanish Victor Barrio became the first matador to die in Spain in 30 years, after he was gored at an event on live television.
Bullfighting is an extremely controversial practice and was declared legal in France in 2012 despite pleas from animal rights campaigners to ban it.
And despite pleas in Spain, it remains legal there with it considered to be part of the country’s ‘cultural heritage.’
How have Iván Fandiño’s final words been remembered by the bullfighting community? What changes, if any, have been proposed in bullfighting rules after his death?
In the dusty ring of a small French town, a moment of bravery turned into tragedy. A Spanish bullfighter, known for facing the fiercest bulls, met his end in a way no one expected.
What were his final words, and what do they tell us about his life and the dangerous world of bullfighting?
This is the story of Iván Fandiño, a man whose courage and fate are still remembered today.
Iván Fandiño’s Final Words
On June 17, 2017, Iván Fandiño, a 36-year-old matador from Spain’s Basque Country, stepped into the bullring at the Aire-sur-l’Adour festival in southwest France.
He was no stranger to danger, having faced hundreds of bulls over his 12-year career. Known for taking on animals others avoided, Fandiño was a respected figure in bullfighting.
That day, he had already competed once, but his second performance would be his last.
During the fight, Fandiño attempted a move to guide the half-ton bull with his cape. His feet got tangled in the fabric, and he fell to the ground.
The bull, named Provechito, charged, piercing Fandiño’s torso with its horn. The injury was severe, damaging his lungs, liver, and kidneys.
Fellow matadors rushed to carry him out of the ring, but the damage was done. As he was taken to the hospital, Fandiño spoke his haunting final words: “Hurry up, I’m dying.”
A Life of Courage and Controversy
Fandiño’s death shocked the bullfighting world. He was a father and a husband, admired for his fearless style.
His career was marked by injuries, like being thrown into the air in Pamplona in 2015 and knocked unconscious in Bayonne in 2014.
Yet, he always returned to the ring. His death was the first matador fatality in France in nearly a century, since 1921, when another bullfighter died in Béziers.
Bullfighting itself is a divisive tradition. Supporters see it as a cultural art form, especially in Spain and parts of France, where it remains legal despite protests.
Critics, including animal rights groups, call it cruel, pointing to the 1,000 bulls killed annually in French bullfights.
Fandiño’s death reignited debates, with some mourning a hero and others questioning the sport’s place in modern times.
A Legacy That Lives On
After Fandiño’s death, tributes came from across Spain. King Felipe VI called him a “great bullfighting figure,” and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy honored his legacy.
Bullrings held moments of silence, and fans laid flowers in his memory. His death followed another tragedy less than a year earlier, when matador Víctor Barrio was gored on live television in Spain. / todayvirals
