Valencia fans detained after interrupting honeymoon in Singapore to stage protest against club’s owner

A Spanish couple have been detained in Singapore after they interrupted their honeymoon to protest against the billionaire owner of Valencia football club.

Peter Lim is an unpopular figure among many fans of the club he bought in 2014, and newlywed couple Dani Cuesta and Mireia Saez went one step further to express their unhappiness with the tycoon – travelling halfway across the world to protest with banners outside his house in Singapore.

They went to the billionaire’s home on Thursday and Mr Cuesta unfurled a yellow banner reading “Lim Go Home”. The picture quickly went viral.

Mr Cuesta and his wife were held at the airport as they were flying out of Singapore and had their passports confiscated on Friday, Valencia mayor María José Catalá said, according to Spanish radio station Onda Cero.

They haven’t yet been charged with a crime but are set to appear in court as a police investigation takes place, she said.

The mayor said she is in touch with Spain’s foreign ministry as well as its embassy in Singapore to resolve the situation.

In a statement, Valencia CF said they are aware of the situation and are in contact with the Spanish embassy, which has “assured that both are being advised and assisted in everything that may be necessary in order for these events to be resolved as soon as possible”.

Mr Lim, Singapore’s richest man, has faced anger from Valencia fans during his decade-long ownership of the club as they blame him for its severe financial crisis. They accuse him of running the club solely as a business since taking it over in 2014.

In 2021, thousands of Valencia fans protested to demand his resignation, displaying “Lim Go Home” banners outside the team’s Mestalla Stadium. The fans were angry after comments attributed to Mr Lim appeared to belittle supporters and downplay their importance to the club.

After arriving in Singapore, Mr Cuesta posted on X that he would “take some photos with my lovely flag” which read “Lim Go Home” and asked people to suggest places.

He later posted a number of photos showing himself at various landmarks across the country with the banner.

The pictures went viral and he also made an appearance on a radio show called Tribuna Deportiva dedicated to Valencia fans, where he discussed the incident.

“The idea of doing the honeymoon in Singapore was my wife’s but when we arrived I had this lightbulb moment,” Mr Cuesta said on the show.

“We spent all morning going around Singapore, spending money on taxis, but I told her, ‘This is something I have to do.’ Every act is like a grain of sand.”

The couple were to travel to Bali for the next leg of their honeymoon but were detained before they could board the flight.

“This morning, I spoke with the embassy in Singapore,” Ms Catala told Onda Cero. “They confirmed that two people had their passports taken away, due to an ongoing police investigation. They have not been told what crime they are being investigated for. They can leave their hotel but not the country.”

It’s not known what charges the couple could face but Singapore has strict laws against public assembly, including advocating for political causes in other countries.

In 2020, Singaporean activist Jolovan Wham was charged with unlawful assembly for briefly posing with a cardboard cutout of a smiley face in protest against the curtailment of freedom of speech in the country.