Lionel Messi's no-show in Hong Kong is getting bigger and bigger. China, which opposed Messi's entry, finally canceled Argentina's friendly match.
According to the Associated Press, the Hangzhou Sports Bureau in China said on its official social networking service (SNS) on Wednesday, "We have learned from the regulators that the conditions for a friendly match are not good enough for reasons that everyone knows. Therefore, we will cancel the match."
The "reasons everyone knows so well" that Hangzhou City mentioned was Messi's no-show in Hong Kong. The canceled match was a friendly match between the Argentine and Nigerian national soccer teams that was scheduled to take place in Hangzhou. The Argentine national team was scheduled to tour China from June 18 to 26. The team was scheduled to play Nigeria in Hangzhou on June 18 and then Ivory Coast in Beijing on June 26.
The no-show in question took place in Hong Kong about a week ago. Inter Miami won 4-1 against Hong Kong's best 11 teams in a pre-season friendly match held at Hong Kong Stadium in Hong Kong on the 4th, but had to hear angry boos from Hong Kong fans. This is because world-class soccer stars such as Messi and Luis Suarez were on the replacement list, but they did not end up on the ground.
The stadium was filled with some 40,000 Hong Kong fans, wearing sky blue-white striped uniforms representing Argentina and light pink uniforms of Inter Miami. However, as Messi did not appear until the middle of the second half, fans started chanting "Messi, come out." Then, around the 35th minute of the second half, his voice changed to an angry one, shouting "refund, refund." However, Messi sat on the bench watching his fellow players' matches silently, regardless of the booing from the audience. As Messi did not play in the match, fans' anger reached its peak after the match.
David Beckham, the club's co-owner, also couldn't avoid the fans' booing. He grabbed a microphone to thank the audience after the game, but the fans booed Beckham with their thumbs down. Beckham also looked awkward.
"The tickets for this match were 5,000 Hong Kong dollars. Why did you buy the tickets at such a high price when it was almost the same as the 80 Hong Kong dollars Hong Kong Football League game?" one fan raged. Videos of fans kicking and smashing Messi's large sign were uploaded on social networking services and the Internet. A part of Messi's face on the sign disappeared.
Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino explained after the game why Messi did not play, to no avail. Messi's adductor muscle was injured, and Suarez's knee was injured. "I know many fans are disappointed. I want to ask for forgiveness. I wanted to make Messi play even for a short time, but the risk was high," Martino said. "I received a report from the team's medical team that Messi's injury could worsen if they play."
The Hong Kong government is also angry. "We are deeply disappointed that Messi is absent," the Hong Kong authorities said in a statement. In addition, the Hong Kong government said it will cut funding for Tatler Asia, the host of the friendly matches. Earlier, the Hong Kong government designated the friendly matches as a "major sporting event" and provided 15 million Hong Kong dollars to Tatler Asia. It also provided 1 million Hong Kong dollars in subsidies for the use of stadiums.
Tatler Asia promoted the upcoming friendly match with Messi in large part. Fans who came to the stadium to see Messi willingly paid from 880 U.S. dollars to up to 5,000 Hong Kong dollars. Tatler Asia said, "We didn't know until right before the match that Messi and Suarez could not play. It is very disappointing."
As controversy arose, Messi himself spoke. Messi, who moved to Japan from Hong Kong, explained at a press conference before the match against Vissel Kobe. "I felt discomfort in my adductor muscle in the first match (against Al-Hilal) held in Saudi Arabia (before coming to Hong Kong). In the second match (against Al-Nasr), I played for a short time at the end of the match to check my condition," he said. "After the test, I was not seriously hurt, but I still feel uncomfortable," adding that injury was the reason he failed to play.
"There were a lot of fans in Hong Kong and I wanted to play for them, but it was difficult. This can happen enough in football and games. I was really disappointed as there were a lot of fans who looked forward to it. I hope there will be another opportunity to play in Hong Kong," he said.
However, fans in Hong Kong expressed even more anger. Messi, who did not play in the match against Hong Kong due to injury, played in the match against Vissel Kobe three days later. Inter Miami concluded a 0-0 friendly match with J-League 1 champion Vissel Kobe at Tokyo National Stadium on Wednesday, and won 4-3 in a penalty shootout.
Messi was substituted at the 15th minute of the second half to display brisk physical activity. He created chances for his teammates with a sharp pass that he measured with a ruler, and even hit a shot with his left foot. He was blocked by the goalkeeper's defense and did not lead to a goal, but led the Japanese fans to roaring applaud.
After the match, Japanese media praised Messi and Chinese media criticized him. China's Sohu Dotcom said that Messi was caught lying, adding that Messi talked and laughed as if he were someone else during the pre-match training. He showed no signs of discomfort or injury. He added that his arrogant behavior of refusing to play in Hong Kong drew the ire of his fans.
BY: 스포츠토토핫