If you’ve been distracted by other news this week (and boy, has there been a lot of other news), you may have missed the latest developments in Lionel Messi’s tax fraud case.
The Barcelona forward was handed a 21-month prison sentence for his crime, but just like club and international team-mate Javier Mascherano, but is unlikely to serve any jail time.
So, if you were Barcelona, how would you respond? The obvious answer would be to issue a statement and move on, so as not to draw too much attention to it.
A little lower down that list of suggested responses (in fact, probably towards the bottom), is devising a hashtag campaign to express solidarity with a player who, let’s not forget, *has been handed a prison sentence for tax fraud*.
Using the hashtag #WeAreAllLeoMessi while posting a photo or message with both hands open pic.twitter.com/NpbYhibp8H
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 9, 2016
“By making it clear that #WeAreAllMessi, we want Leo to know that he is not alone. All members, supporters clubs, fans, athletes, media and everyone else are invited to participate,” the club has said in a statement accompanying the campaign.
While some Barcelona supporters have used the #WeAreAllLeoMessi hashtag to express their support for the Argentine, fans of other clubs have been somewhat less forgiving.
There are just some of the responses…
https://twitter.com/clonmacart/status/751807511104225281
#WeAreAllLeoMessi @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/Vl42RHofL5
— Tim Stillman (@Stillmanator) July 9, 2016
#WeAreAllLeoMessi pic.twitter.com/N7u2ip42r9
— Ben McAleer (@BenMcAleer1) July 9, 2016
#WeAreAllLeoMessi pic.twitter.com/Sf3Ip4ZM5G
— Nick Miller (@NickMiller79) July 9, 2016
https://twitter.com/kevinmccauley/status/751807271085150208
https://twitter.com/tomEurosport/status/751805394767450112
