An Argentina friendly in China next month was canceled on Friday because Lionel Messi was unable to play in an Inter Miami exhibition match in Hong Kong.
World champion Argentina, captained 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. Both opponents will coincidentally meet in the final of the African Cup of Nations this weekend.
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But Messi, on tour with Inter Miami, outraged fans in Hong Kong when he did not play against a local team on Sunday and remained on the bench. Messi said that he had a groin injury. But his excuse was unsuccessful in Hong Kong after he played for 30 minutes on Wednesday in Tokyo against Vissel Kobe.
On Friday, the Hangzhou sports office canceled the friendly between Argentina and Nigeria.
“For reasons known to all, we have learned from the supervisory authorities that the conditions are not ripe for the match to take place. It has now been decided that the match will be cancelled,” the Hangzhou Sports Bureau announced on its social networks. officers. account.
An Argentine Football Association official told Association Press that he knew the match was suspended and that he was looking for another venue to play Nigeria. The official spoke on condition of anonymity and said: “It is a sensitive matter.”
Ivory Coast's friendly with Argentina in Beijing went ahead as planned, Ivory Coast team spokeswoman Anne-Marie N'Guessan told the AP on Friday.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong organizers of the Inter-friendly club Miami said they will offer a 50% refund following days of backlash from angry fans and the city government.
Many social media users in mainland China expressed disappointment at Messi's absence, and Chinese state newspaper Global Times published an editorial saying the impact of the controversy surrounding the soccer superstar “has far exceeded the field of sports”. “
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 pleaded with Inter Miami management to urge Messi to explain the situation to viewers after learning that Messi, who was required to play for 45 minutes unless injured according to his contract, would not play.
“He didn't. 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 about how to resolve the issue and that details of the refund agreement would be announced in mid-March.
Tickets for the match cost up to HK$4,880 ($624) each. In its statement, Tatler Asia said it would refund HK$56 million ($7.2 million) in total, resulting in a loss of HK$43 million ($5.5 million). Before the refund, his net income was 13 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.7 million), the organizer said.
Tatler Asia already announced on Monday that it would withdraw a request for funding from the city government to organize the match.
Responding to the announcement, the Hong Kong government welcomed the agreement in a statement, calling it a responsible move. But he said Hong Kong society still has many questions about the incident, especially after watching Messi play in Japan, and he hoped Inter Miami could 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 has been disappointment in the absence of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez from Sunday's match and we regret that the two players were not able to participate,” the MLS club said.
“We also recognize that the late decision caused frustration among our Hong Kong fans and the event promoter, Tatler Asia. We feel it necessary to express that injuries are unfortunately part of the beautiful game, and the health of our players must always come first.”
After the public relations disaster broke out on Sunday, Messi addressed the widespread disappointment by explaining why he did not play at 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 the post that he hoped to return to Hong Kong to play for his fans and go to mainland China to share the joy of football.
But his appearance at Wednesday's Tokyo game intensified criticism of his absence beyond Hong Kong, where the government sought to use Sunday's game to boost the city's image as a mega-events hub.
On Wednesday, the Global Times stated in its editorial that Messi and Inter Miami's explanations were not convincing and pointed to speculation about the movements.
“One theory is that their actions are politically motivated, as Hong Kong aims to boost the economy through the event and external forces deliberately wanted to embarrass Hong Kong with this incident,” he said. “Judging by the evolution of the situation, the possibility of such speculation cannot be ruled out.”
Pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong also weighed in. Regina Ip, a senior member of the Executive Council, Hong Kong's Cabinet, 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 concluded Inter Miami's world promotional tour. Miami has won only one of its six games in Central and North America, Saudi Arabia and Asia. The tour concludes on February 16 in Florida against Newell's Old Boys, Messi's boyhood club in Rosario, Argentina.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
