Lionel Messi’s appearance in Japan, days after remaining on the bench for the much-anticipated game in Hong Kong, sparked condemnation from Chinese state media, Hong Kong politicians and fans.
Many in Hong Kong were disappointed when the 36-year-old Argentine did not appear on the field in a packed crowd on Sunday against Inter Miami. Fans were demanding answers and refunds.
Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said Messi was deemed unfit to play in Sunday’s friendly against Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong government said in a statement on Sunday: “The government, as well as all soccer fans, deeply regret the arrangements made by the organizers regarding Messi’s absence from the match today.” The organizers have an obligation to explain to all soccer fans. ”
Chinese state media Global Times reported that Messi’s subsequent appearance on the field in Japan raised many questions about the discriminatory treatment given to Hong Kong.
The Times wrote in an editorial: “The match in Hong Kong was the only one of the six pre-season friendlies Messi played during this trip that he missed. This situation… It amplified doubts and doubts.”
The Global Times wrote that the government and fans’ disappointment was “fully understandable”, with some mainland fans traveling 12 hours from Xinjiang to Hong Kong to see Messi. The impact of this incident goes far beyond the realm of sports. ”
This story has taken China’s social media by storm, with related conversations accounting for half of Weibo’s top 10 trending topics in recent days, receiving hundreds of millions of daily engagements, and accounting for some of the top search terms. However, many commenters downplayed the incident. .
Just before Wednesday’s game against Japan, Messi apologized to Chinese fans on Weibo, saying it was a real shame that he couldn’t play in Hong Kong due to injury.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I always want to play…especially these days where we travel far and people are excited to watch us play. In the match. I hope to come back and play in Hong Kong,” he wrote in Chinese and Spanish.
The match in Hong Kong attracted 40,000 fans, some of whom paid nearly HK$5,000 (approximately 64,000 yen) for a ticket.
According to the Global Times, the Hong Kong Consumer Council announced that it had received 547 complaints related to Messi’s absence, totaling HK$3.64 million (approximately US$465,466).
In Tokyo, entire seating blocks at the National Stadium remained empty, with just 28,614 tickets sold.
The Hong Kong Culture, Sports and Tourism Board said in a statement that, like the fans, it was very disappointed that Messi could not play in Hong Kong due to injury.
“However, three days later, Messi was able to play actively and freely in Japan…The government hopes that the organizers and the team will provide a reasonable explanation.”
Hong Kong lawmaker Kenneth Fok said the incident had “rubbed salt” in the wounds of Hong Kong fans, while senior government adviser Regina Yip told I hate the black hand behind this as deliberate and intentional.” It is thought that he is disrespecting Hong Kong. ”
Reuters
