Matador gored through leg during Madrid bullfight; replacement fighter steps in as he is hospitalized
Serafín Marín, 42, suffered a 30-centimeter goring at Las Ventas, with fellow toreros distracting the bull as Mexican bullfighter Juan Pablo Sánchez took his place before Marín was taken to hospital.
A veteran Spanish matador was gored through the leg during a bullfight at Madrid’s Las Ventas on Sunday, authorities said, with the injury described as a 30-centimeter deep wound that left spectators at the country’s largest bullring stunned.
Serafín Marín, 42, was impaled on the right horn of Estafador during the bull’s third pass of the opening performance as thousands watched. Video of the moment shows Marín being lifted into the air by the bull and then dropped into the arena sand. Four colleagues, wearing the traditional traje de luces, stepped in with capes to distract the distressed animal as another fighter, Mexican matador Juan Pablo Sánchez, stepped in to take on Estafador in Marín’s place while he was carried from the ring to the infirmary.
“I didn’t realise I had been gored until I entered the infirmary,” Marín said later, reporting he spent the night in hospital with head injuries and significant bleeding. “I was really stunned and dizzy from the blow to the head … and I was bleeding a lot,” he added, describing how he was “caught completely off guard and unable to react.” The incident occurred early in the season, and Marín noted he had been preparing to return to the arena all year.
Marín’s wound was diagnosed as a tear through the outside of the right thigh, with an upward trajectory of about 30 centimeters. He underwent local surgery before being transferred to the Fraternidad Muprespa-Habana Hospital in Chamartín, where he spent the night in pain, according to local reports. He said he would have to wait another year before fans could see him return to the bullring, expressing resolve to come back: “I’ll have to wait another year so the fans can see that I still have a lot to say in bullfighting.”
The incident comes as bullfighting remains a contentious tradition across parts of Europe. Catalonia, Marín’s homeland, became the first region in Spain to ban the spectacle in 2012, a policy that continues to shape debates about the sport’s cultural status and safety. In Madrid, Las Ventas has long been a focal point for bullfighting in the capital, attracting large crowds for weekend fights.
Aside from the day’s events, activists and spectators alike have highlighted ongoing tensions surrounding bullfighting. Two days earlier, activists from PETA France were arrested during the Feria des Vendanges’ opening bullfight after storming the arena in protest. French content creator Jeremstar was detained after displaying a sign reading “F*ck the bullfight,” according to PETA. A spokesperson for the group said the three had remained in custody since Friday night.
“Watching images of bulls being tortured to death during bullfights shocked me and should chill the blood of anyone with a modicum of empathy,” Jeremstar said, adding there is “no justification for stabbing terrified animals or applauding as they slowly die in the ring.” The episode underscores the ongoing clash between tradition and animal-rights concerns that remains a defining feature of the sport’s public narrative.
As Marín recovers, the wider bullfighting circuit faces scrutiny over safety standards and animal welfare, even as fans and participants emphasize cultural heritage and personal risk as integral elements of the tradition. The Las Ventas fight season, which typically runs through the autumn, will continue to operate under heightened attention to safety protocols and medical readiness for emergencies of this kind.