08 July 2016

Barcelona slam 'unequal treatment' in Messi tax case

Club draws comparison with Noos case that has engulfed royal family

My article for MARCA





Barcelona have mounted a spirited defence of Lionel Messi two days after the Argentine forward received a suspended sentence of 21 months for tax evasion.

The club have decried what it describes as 'differential treatment' by drawing attention to that of the Duchess of Palma de Majorca and her husband Inaki Urdangarin in the Noos case that has blackened the name of Spain's royal family in recent years.

The club's chief legal advisor Roman Gomez Ponti said he was "surprised" by this.

"It's strange that the state prosecutors have applied different criteria when the situation is exactly the same," he said.

"Messi's been left helpless.

"In the Noos case, one position has been taken and in this one, another," he protested.

Barcelona's spokesman Josep Vives, while not specifically referencing the Noos case, essentially repeated this complaint.


"We understand and stress that Messi is innocent and should not be held criminally liable," Vives stated.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE AT MARCA IN ENGLISH

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