After his contract to promote tourism in Saudi Arabia and ignore human rights violations in the Kingdom, Argentine star Lionel Messi was severely criticised.
The letter was organized by human rights body Grant Liberty and, via The Independent, said: ‘You are an inspiration to millions and what you say and do really matters. To put it bluntly – you have enormous power, but with that power comes great responsibility.
‘The Saudi regime wants to use you to launder its reputation. Prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia have been tortured, sexually assaulted, and held in prolonged solitary confinement – often for months at a time – on an industrial scale.
‘Women’s rights campaigners, reformist preachers, Shia activists, democracy campaigners, indeed anyone who criticizes or even questions the regime can face long-term imprisonment and in some cases the death penalty.
‘If you say ‘yes’ to visiting Saudi, you are in effect saying yes to all the human rights abuses that take place today in modern Saudi Arabia. But if you say ‘no’, you will send an equally powerful message – that human rights matter, decency matters, and those who torture and murder do not do so with impunity. The world must stand up to those who trample on others.
But even last year, Messi was involved in promotional work with Saudi Arabia, with his face seen on billboards in the country. And he is far from the only sporting idol with ties to the nation.
In 2019, David Beckham was criticized for agreeing to play in an exhibition match in the country alongside his former Real Madrid teammate Zinedine Zidane.
For whom Beckham is a goodwill ambassador, Unicef has criticised Saudi Arabia for its war in Yemen and said bombing attacks had been catastrophic.
Furthermore, Amnesty International at the time released a statement urging sports stars involved in Saudi Arabia to use their platform to call out the regime.
A statement carried by The Sun said: ‘Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority may well have plans to attempt to rebrand the Kingdom’s reputation, but we should not forget the cruelty that continues in the country.
‘Saudi Arabia is currently jailing and torturing dissidents and human rights defenders, is heavily involved in the indiscriminate bombing of hospitals and homes in Yemen, and the spectre of Jamal Khashoggi’s gruesome murder hangs over the entire Saudi government.
‘Countries like Saudi Arabia are well aware of the ‘sportswashing’ value of hosting major international entertainment and sporting events.’
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, turned down a $6m offer to work commercially with the nation last year.
For its part, the British Independent newspaper reported that the families of prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia demanded that Messi not be used by the regime to wash his reputation and cover up his grave violations.
The International Business Times website said that Messi agreed to be an ambassador for Saudi tourism despite the government’s bad record, and thus helps to wash the image of the regime in the international community.
Messi, the French player of Paris Saint-Germain, made a tour inside the historic Jeddah two days ago, hosted by Saudi officials.
The Saudi Minister of Tourism, Ahmed Al-Khatib, announced Messi as the tourism ambassador in the Kingdom.
He pointed out that this step comes to enhance Saudi tourism, provide more investment opportunities, create many jobs, attract tourists, and enrich the experience of visitors to Saudi Arabia.
Princess Haifa bint Muhammad Al Saud, Assistant Minister of Tourism for Executive and Strategic Affairs, tweeted, “Today I hosted Messi and his friends on a tour of historic Jeddah.”
The Organization for Democracy Now for the Arab World (DAWN) commented on Messi’s photo with Princess Haifa, “The strange thing is that the Saudi princes are very kind to foreigners, while they do not care about their unjustly forgotten compatriots in Saudi prisons.”
“Is it not the first thing that we see your kindness, gentleness and hospitality with your Saudi compatriots? Who is subjected to enforced disappearance, systematic torture and unlawful detention?”