Barcelona has "been widely ridiculed after setting up a social campaign to publicly defend" Lionel Messi, after he was handed a 21-month sentence by a Catalan court after being found guilty of tax fraud, according to Luke Brown of the London TELEGRAPH. The club urged its supporters "to demonstrate their unconditional support for the striker by taking to social media and using the hashtag #WeAreAllLeoMessi," as well as asking for fans to take photographs holding "both hands open," in a gesture of solidarity. A statement posted on the club's official website read, "The campaign is encouraging all Barça fans to express their sympathy for the greatest footballer in the world by voicing their unconditional support on social networks." On Wednesday, Messi and his father "received 21-month sentences by a Catalan court" over their failure to pay £3.4M ($4.4M) of tax on Messi’s image rights. The #WeAreAllLeoMessi "met with a bemused reaction" on Twitter shortly after the club published its statement, with many supporters "expressing their shock at the club calling on their fans to defend the player when he had been found guilty in a court of law" (TELEGRAPH, 7/9). REUTERS' Rex Gowar wrote it "is the second campaign in support of Messi in the last two weeks." Argentines "have called on him to reverse his retirement from international football, a decision he took after his country's loss on penalties to Chile in the Copa America Centenario final" in the U.S. on June 26 (REUTERS, 7/9).
