La Liga 2016/17: Prosecutor pursuing Lionel Messi & Neymar snapped at Real Madrid's game
What’s the story?
According to Sport, the state prosecutor who was pursuing Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Neymar with vigour regarding their conflicts with the tax office has been photographed sitting in the presidential box at the Santiago Bernabeu, enjoying the game between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad.
Marta Silva was apparently seated immediately behind Los Blancos president Florentino Perez during the game which led a majority of the Barcelona fans to vent their ire on the social media.
In case you didn’t know…
Marta Silva, who is the former director of Real Madrid, has been hot on the heels of both Messi and Neymar regarding their respective tax-fraud charges. While Messi took the stand following allegations of tax fraud related to income earned from his image rights, the prosecutor had asked for Neymar to be tried over his murky multi-million-euro transfer to the Catalan giants.
Also Read: Explaining the tax fraud lawsuit against Lionel Messi
The heart of the matter
The photograph from Real Madrid’s game last night has been doing the rounds on the internet and Barcelona fans have not taken lightly to it. The reaction of a majority of the fanboys accusing the rival club of trying to jeopardise the club’s image was, “Now they don’t even hide it.”
The blonde woman seated behind Perez was quickly recognised as the said prosecutor and Barcelona fans took her down. And they had every right to do so!
When Messi was charged with tax fraud, Marta Silva was the person who pushed for a prison sentence. Although the prosecution had not seen any reason for a prison sentence, she really pushed her case as Messi maintained that he was not aware of any of the deals that were taking place with his money.
What angered the fans of the Catalonian club was the fact that while Messi and Neymar’s case was processed with swift efficiency, the same for Cristiano Ronaldo’s case. In spite of committing the same offence, and for a higher amount, the tax office still has no news.
What next?
Ronaldo has already released his tax documents and has declared his assets but a decision is still pending. Meanwhile, Real Madrid are racing ahead in the La Liga title race and are perched right at the top of the table with a four-point lead over Barcelona with a game in hand.
Sportskeeda’s take
If Marta Silva really had something to do with either of Messi and Neymar’s jail sentences (which, of course, they did not have to serve) then she deserves all the flak. But it is definitely beyond Real Madrid to try and tarnish their rival’s reputation in such a manner.
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