Argentina friendly in China canceled as Messi backlash grows،
A friendly against Argentina in China next month was canceled on Friday due to further fallout from Lionel Messi not appearing in an Inter Miami exhibition match in Hong Kong.
World champions Argentina, led by Messi, last month scheduled a tour of China during the March 18-26 international break. Matches were scheduled against Nigeria in Hangzhou and Ivory Coast in Beijing. The two opponents coincidentally meet in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations this weekend.
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But Messi, on tour with Inter Miami, outraged Hong Kong fans when he did not play against a local team on Sunday and remained on the bench. Messi said he was suffering from a groin injury. But his excuse was not accepted in Hong Kong after playing 30 minutes on Wednesday in Tokyo against Vissel Kobe.
The Hangzhou Sports Bureau canceled the Argentina-Nigeria friendly match on Friday.
“Due to reasons known to all, we have learned from the supervisory authorities that conditions are immature for the match to take place. It has now been decided that the match will be canceled,” the Hangzhou Sports Bureau announced on its official social networks. account.
An Argentine Football Federation official told the Association Press they were aware the match was suspended and were looking for another venue to play Nigeria. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, saying: “This is a sensitive issue.”
The friendly match between Ivory Coast and Argentina in Beijing is going ahead as planned, Ivorian team spokesperson Anne-Marie N'Guessan told the AP on Friday.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong organizers of the club's friendly against Inter Miami said they would offer a 50% refund after days of backlash from angry fans and the city government.
Many social media users in mainland China expressed disappointment at Messi's no-show, with China's official Global Times newspaper publishing an editorial saying the impact of the controversy surrounding the soccer superstar “has gone far beyond the field of sport. “
In an Instagram post on Friday, local organizer Tatler Asia apologized to those who were disappointed by Messi's absence and said he was upset by “the apparent lack of respect shown to the crowd”.
He reiterated that he had begged Inter Miami management to urge Messi to explain the situation to spectators after learning that Messi, who was required to play for 45 minutes unless injured under his contract, would not wouldn't play.
“He didn't do it. The fact that Messi… played in Japan on February 7 feels like another slap in the face,” he said.
Organizers said they were in talks with the city government on how to resolve the issue and that details of reimbursement terms would be announced by mid-March.
Tickets for the match cost up to HK$4,880 ($624) each. In its statement, Tatler Asia said it would refund a total of HK$56 million ($7.2 million), resulting in a loss of HK$43 million ($5.5 million). dollars). Before the reimbursement, its net income was 13 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.7 million), the organizer said.
Tatler Asia already announced on Monday that it would withdraw its request for funding from the city government to stage the match.
In response to the announcement, the Hong Kong government welcomed the agreement in a statement, calling it a responsible decision. But he said Hong Kong society still has many questions about the incident, especially after watching Messi play in Japan, and hopes Inter Miami can provide a reasonable explanation to the public.
Inter Miami apologized in a statement to Reuters on Thursday.
“Despite our best intentions, we understand that there was disappointment following the absence of Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez from Sunday's match and we are sorry that both players were unable to participate,” said the MLS club.
“We also recognize that this late decision has caused frustration among our Hong Kong fans and the event promoter, Tatler Asia. We feel it necessary to express that injuries are an unfortunate part of the beautiful game and that the health of our players should always come first.”
After the PR disaster broke on Sunday, Messi addressed widespread disappointment when explaining why he did not attend a press conference in Tokyo.
He also said it was unfortunate that he couldn't play in Hong Kong on Chinese social media platform Weibo. He said in his message that he hoped to return to Hong Kong to play for his fans and travel to mainland China to share the joy of football.
But his participation in the Tokyo match on Wednesday intensified criticism of his absence beyond Hong Kong, where the government sought to use Sunday's match to boost the city's image as a hub for mega-events .
On Wednesday, the Global Times said in its editorial that Messi and Inter Miami's explanations were not convincing and pointed to speculation about the decisions.
“One theory is that their actions are politically motivated, as Hong Kong intends to stimulate the economy through this event and that outside forces deliberately wanted to embarrass Hong Kong through this incident,” he said. he declared. “In view of the evolving situation, the possibility of such speculation cannot be ruled out.”
Hong Kong's pro-Beijing politicians also spoke out. Regina Ip, a senior member of the Hong Kong Cabinet Executive Council, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Messi should never be allowed to return to Hong Kong. His lies and hypocrisy are disgusting.”
The match in Japan closed Inter Miami's world promotional tour. Miami has won just one of its six games in Central and North America, Saudi Arabia and Asia. The tour ends on February 16 in Florida against Newell's Old Boys, Messi's boyhood club from Rosario, Argentina.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
