Barcelona's Lionel Messi Support Campaign Criticised After Spanish Tax Trial

Barcelona’s public show of support for Lionel Messi following his tax fraud conviction has been branded “totally wrong” by the Secretary of State for Sport, Miguel Cardenal. 

Messi and his father Jorge were hit with a suspended 21-month prison sentence after the duo were found guilty of defrauding Spain out of £3.5 million between 2007 and 2009; neither will serve time behind bars, though.

The verdict prompted Barcelona to launch a campaign showing their unequivocal backing to their star man with an accompanying hashtag of #WeAreAllLeoMessi.

This movement prompted criticism from many on social media, and now Cardenal has had his say on the matter, per AS (h/t Football Espana):

"

If the aim of this campaign is to raise a complaint over a court decision, it is totally wrong. We are in a modern democracy with an independent and competent judiciary. We must respect and abide by these decisions, not make campaigns of this type to disagree with a judgement in this case.

I think this player or any other would be very happy to live in a country with an advanced system such as we have for social protection, education and health. It’s based on compliance with the rights and duties of citizens.

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Here is a look at the initial post from Barcelona’s Twitter feed in which they gave their support to the 29-year-old superstar:

In addition to Cardenal, Carlos Cruzado, president of the Spanish tax inspector's union Gestha, has also lashed out at Barcelona’s cause. 

“Our view is that a campaign of solidarity, such as the one being run at the moment by Barcelona, in support of people who have defrauded the public purse isn't something that exactly improves the tax conscience of Spaniards,” he told Cadena Ser (h/t AS).

As noted in the aforementioned piece, in response to Barcelona’s campaign, other hashtags have gathered momentum, including #IAmNotLeoMessi and #WeAreAllTheTaxAuthorities, with some anger that the club have chosen to champion a figure convicted of fraud.

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

It’s not been the best spell of Messi’s career as of late. Prior to his conviction, the forward suffered more heartbreak on the international stage with Argentina; the captain saw his side lose a third successive major final in as many summers, missing in a penalty-shootout loss to Chile and outlining his intention to retire from Albiceleste duty.

There have been some stories the player may not be at ease with life in Catalonia either. La Liga president Javier Tebas has recently insisted he is “afraid” that Messi could leave Barcelona due to the ongoing problems away from the field, per ESPN (h/t Joe Short of the Daily Express).

As noted here by Sport Witness, there have been some suggestions in the local media that the #WeAreAllLeoMessi drive is geared towards keeping their star man contented with life at the Camp Nou amid these ongoing problems:

Messi has typically kept himself out of the media for anything other than remarkable feats on the field throughout his career, so this kind of focus will be foreign to him. It’ll make it fascinating to see how he begins 2016-17 and what the reaction will be to the Argentina man from supporters across the country.