When Lionel Messi doesn’t show up for the Inter Miami game in Hong Kong, fans boo and demand refunds.
A lot of soccer fans in Hong Kong were upset that Lionel Messi, the star player from Argentina, didn’t play in a friendly game for Inter Miami on Sunday.
In the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium, which was sold out, what began with loud cheers and rapture ended with boos and calls for refunds. Not having the 36-year-old play in the game has even upset Hong Kong’s government.
Inter Miami beat Hong Kong XI 4-1 in an event called Tatler XFEST Hong Kong. They were out to prove a point after going winless on a worldwide pre-season tour.
Even before the game, though, fans didn’t seem to care about the score. They were more interested in seeing Messi play, who has won the World Cup and the Ballon d’Or eight times.
The government and fans are both upset with how the event organizer set up things so that Messi couldn’t play a friendly game today, the statement said on Sunday. “The event organizer needs to explain themselves to the fans.”
A new sign Luis Suárez also didn’t play, even though he went to the press conference before the game. Jordi Alba along with Sergio Busquets, two other star players, were also not used and were only brought on in the final minute of play.
There were whistles and jeers during the extra trophy presentation, fireworks, and a speech by company co-owner David Beckham.
It was a pretty awkward end to the trip. When a big-screen camera moved to Messi, the boos kept going.
The mood changed in the last 20 minutes of the game. Cries of “We want Messi” turned into “Where is Messi?” chants, and boos could be heard every time a player besides Messi came on.
It was also possible to hear shouts of “refund, refund, refund” in the two languages and Cantonese during that time. Reuters says that tickets went on sale in December and ranged in price from 880 to 4,880 Hong Kong dollars, which is around $113 to $624.
Sunday, Tatler XFEST said it was “extremely disappointed” that Messi or Suárez did not play to Hong Kong.
The festival said it “did not have any details about the non-participation” of the players before the game started.
Coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino of Miami said that the choice not to play Messi was made very last minute and based on what the club’s medical staff said.
“We understand how the fans felt about Leo and Luis not being there,” Martino said, apologizing. He also thanked Hong Kong for all the “care” they had shown them over the weekend.
“Our medical team and I made this choice together.” We looked at their health and decided that they couldn’t play because they might get hurt if they stepped on the field.
“We understand that the fans are upset, and we ask that they forgive us.” We wanted to play them for a short time, but the danger was too great.
People were asking Martino what kind of injury Messi had because the star player had been said to have had a hamstring issue since Miami’s last friendly against Al-Nassr to Saudi Arabia.
There is swelling in Leo’s adductor, which we saw in the pictures of his muscles. The situation was bad for days, even though we were hoping it would get better, Martino stated, adding that Suarez hurt his knee on the trip to Saudi Arabia.
“We kept checking with the medical personnel, while we also had to think about our responsibilities for the upcoming Major League Soccer [MLS].” This led us to decide not to put Messi in the game.
“Really, we’ve been checking on Leo’s health every day.” He had the last training session yesterday (Saturday), and we looked over it in the hotel until the next day. Not until the afternoon was a choice made.