Soccer-China says Messi's absence in Hong Kong match beyond 'realm of sports' as fury builds

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08/02/2024 01:19

HONG KONG, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Chinese state media, Hong
Kong politicians and fans swiftly condemned Argentine player
Lionel Messi's participation in a Japan match on Wednesday after
staying on the bench just days earlier in a highly anticipated
match in Hong Kong.
    Many in the financial hub were dismayed on Sunday when the
36-year-old did not come onto the field during a much hyped
Inter Miami match to a sell-out crowd with fans demanding
answers and a refund.
    Miami head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino said Messi was
deemed unfit to play in Sunday's match in the Hong Kong
friendly.
    China's state-controlled Global Times said Messi's absence
posed many questions on the differential treatment for Hong
Kong. 
    "The match in Hong Kong became the only one in Messi's six
pre-season friendly matches on this trip where he was absent. 
The situation...has magnified these doubts and suspicions on the
integrity of Inter Miami and Messi himself."
    Some mainland fans travelled 12 hours from Xinjiang to Hong
Kong to see Messi, the Global Times wrote, with the
disappointment of the government and fans "entirely
understandable. The impact of this incident has far exceeded the
realm of sports."
    Messi apologised to his Chinese fans on Weibo, a Chinese
platform similar to X, just ahead of the Japan game on
Wednesday, saying it was a real shame he was not able to play in
Hong Kong due to an injury.
    "Anyone who knows me knows that I always want to play...
especially in these games where we travel so far and people are
excited to see our games. Hopefully we can come back and play a
game in Hong Kong," he wrote in Chinese and Spanish.    
    The match in Hong Kong drew 40,000 fans, with spectators
paying up to nearly HK$5,000 ($640) per ticket. In Tokyo, entire
blocks of seating at the Japan National Stadium remained
unoccupied, with just 28,614 tickets sold.
    Hong Kong's Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau 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 the organisers and
teams can provide reasonable explanations."
    Sports lawmaker Kenneth Fok said the incident "sprinkled
salt wounds" on Hong Kong fans, while senior government advisor
Regina Ip wrote on X that "Hong Kong people hate Messi,
Inter-Miami and the black hand behind them, for the deliberate
and calculate snub to Hong Kong."

 (Reporting by Farah Master and Jessie Pang; editing by Michael
Perry)
 ((farah.master@thomsonreuters.com; +852 3462 7709;))