Barrio’s wife, Raquel Sanz, watched on from the stands, horrified, as the award-winning matador was attacked by the bull and then gored to death. This is the first time since 1875 that a matador has died in the ring in Spain.

Barrio, 29, was performing at the Feria del Anghel, in Teruel, Aragon and was apparently trying a ‘Muletazo’ move to deflect the charging bull when the beast caught him and sprung him to the ground, where it pinned him to the ground and thrust his horns into first his thigh, and then his chest and front. 

By the time the unconscious Barrio reached the hospital, he was already in cardiac arrest and the doctors could not do anything to save him.

Since the program was being telecast live, Barrio’s death was also broadcast live on television. Here is a video of the deadly goring. 

Warning: The contents of this video are graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.

The sport of professional bull-fighting has been a favorite pastime of the Spanish for centuries now, but it has recently come under a lot of criticism for its gory nature and for the cruel and dispensable attitude it takes towards the animals.  

The bull that killed Barrio, A Los Manos-bred beast called Lorenzo, will soon see the end of his dynastic line as per Spanish bull-fighting tradition. The bull’s mother will be slaughtered by the ranch. The idea is to finish the bloodline of the killer bull. The bull will never be used in a fight again. 

The norm has provoked outrage from animal activists, adding to the many criticisms that the Spanish ‘sport’ already has to its name. 

If social media reactions are any indication (Barrio’s death was trolled endlessly), a lot of people are unhappy with bull-fighting, calling it cruel and humiliating for the animals, and opined that the matador got what he had coming.

(Feature Image Source: Twitter/@LBC)