For days, football fans in Hong Kong are still upset about not having seen superstar Lionel Messi play. But there is also great excitement from other quarters.
After the anger of angry fans over the canceled appearance of football star Lionel Messi in Hong Kong, the organizer has announced a partial refund. “We will not shirk our responsibilities as organizers and therefore Tatler Asia will offer a 50 percent refund to everyone who purchased a matchday ticket through official channels,” the organizer wrote on its Facebook page.
Tatler Asia wanted to announce the further procedure for this by mid-March. The government of China’s Special Administrative Region, which had demanded an explanation for the debacle, welcomed the organizer’s offer.
Politician complains against Messi
World champion Messi was a guest at Hong Kong XI last Sunday with his club Inter Miami from the US Major League Soccer. Around 38,000 fans came from as far away as Australia to see the Argentine play. But the 36-year-old, like former FC Barcelona striker Luis Suárez, sat on the bench for 90 minutes in the Americans’ 4-1 win. Messi later said he had adductor problems.
The fans expressed their anger with boos in the stadium and, in the days that followed, with angry posts online. But politicians are also upset about Lionel Messi. For the Chinese politician Regina Ip, Messi’s behavior was absurd. She wrote on X: “Messi should never be allowed to return to Hong Kong again. He lies and his hypocrisy is disgusting!”
What further fueled the fans’ mood: On Wednesday, Messi played in the friendly against Vissel Kobe in Japan. The club has contractually guaranteed that Messi and Suárez should play 45 minutes in Hong Kong unless they are injured, Tatler Asia said.
Inter Miami informed the organizers that Messi and Suárez could not play due to injury. The fact that both were on the field in Japan felt like “another slap in the face,” wrote Tatler Asia.