Messi to sue Argentine legislator for using photo in campaign
By DPA, IANSMonday, February 21, 2011
BUENOS AIRES - Barcelona striker Lionel Messi plans to sue an Argentine legislator for using the footballer’s photograph in a political campaign without permission, Messi’s lawyers said Monday.
Lawyer Ricardo Giusepponi said Messi would take legal action against legislator Alfredo Olmedo because “he never consented” to having his photo used in the campaign.
The photo shows Messi hugging the legislator, under the slogan, “Say yes to sport, say no to drugs.”
“The photo may be a sham. It may have been taken at Ezeiza airport (in Buenos Aires), where Lionel is greeted by so many people. He certainly did not know who that person was and his position,” the lawyer told a radio station in Rosario, Messi’s native city.
“Lionel supports no one. He has nothing to do with party politics,” Giusepponi said.
Olmedo running for governor of the northwestern Argentine province of Salta.
