Human Rights Condemn Lionel Messi For Partying With Oppressors In Gabon

Lionel Messi is getting it from all angles for his recent visit to Gabon. The Barcelona forward has been criticised by the Human Rights Foundation for ‘partying with oppressors’ in the African country.

In the country to promote the 2017 African Cup of Nations, Messi was photographed with notorious Gabonese dictator Ali Bongo.

It was reportedly a rather lucrative trip for Messi to take. France Football claimed he was paid €3.5 million for the appearance. Messi has denied this.


No matter how much money was offered to him, Messi should have kept his dignity, honoured his principles and declined to trot around the poverty-stricken nation.

That’s the view of Human Rights Foundation president Thor Halvorssen who reminds us what kind of a man Ali Bongo is.

He said: “In providing PR services to Gabon’s Bongo family, Lionel Messi has seriously undermined the credibility of his own charitable foundation.

“Whereas Messi claims to support children’s rights, and even serves as a Unicef ambassador to promote youth education, he has endorsed a kleptocratic regime that refuses to investigate the ritual murder of children in Gabon.

“Messi’s trip is part of the Bongo family’s PR campaign to promote the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, which Gabon will host at enormous expense despite the fact that the Bongo family’s embezzlement has left 20 per cent of the population to live on less than $2 per day.”

HRF chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein also criticised the Argentine attacker for following in the footsteps of other misinformed celebrities.

He said: “It’s shocking, given the recent public humiliation endured by Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, and Kanye West, that Messi’s management and the athlete himself would consider putting his prestige at the service of a serial human rights abuser.

“If Messi wants to do good in Gabon, HRF recommends that rather than partying with oppressors, he release a statement in solidarity with the country’s persecuted dissidents and environmentalists, and press the regime to investigate the ritual murders of children.”

Strong words. It’s disappointing to see Messi engaging with such vilified figures, rather than using his own profile to rally against them.

In the aftermath of the event, he was criticised by a Gabonese political party for turning up ‘dressed for the zoo’, wearing denim shorts and a t-shirt.