Lionel Messi, 37, of Miami, is “furious”. Even the Hong Kong government got involved.
“Hong Kong fans were outraged by Lionel Messi’s injury absence, and the Hong Kong government expressed ‘extreme disappointment,'” the British newspaper The Guardian reported on May 5 (below).
Lionel Messi’s club Inter Miami defeated the Hong Kong All-Stars 4-1 at Hong Kong Stadium on Thursday.
Miami opened the scoring in the 40th minute through Robert Taylor, before Hong Kong equalized in the 43rd minute through Henry Anier.
Lawson Sunderland, Leonardo Campagna, and Ryan Saylor then scored in quick succession to seal the win for Miami.
It was supposed to be an enjoyable friendly, 안전놀이터 but Hong Kong fans were furious. The absence of Messi and Luis Suarez.
Only Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets played as substitutes.
Hong Kong media outlet Yahoo Hong Kong wrote on April 4, “The former Barcelona quartet didn’t start, and Messi and Suarez didn’t even play. The fans who packed the stadium were very disappointed and booed at the end of the game. They were chanting for refunds and calling it the ‘scam of the century’.”
According to local reports, a Messi sign on the field had its head cut off by angry fans.
“Miami coach Gerardo Martino considered playing Messi and Suarez, but decided it was too much of a risk,” the outlet said. He added that he hoped the fans would be considerate and forgiving.”
“When asked why Miami didn’t announce the news earlier, Martino explained that the team assessed Messi’s condition and allowed him to participate in training the day before, but didn’t make a final decision until the afternoon and rested him. Martino said Messi has a muscle inflammation and is unable to play as the season is about to begin. Suarez explained that he had an inflamed knee against Al Nasr earlier in the day.
Yap Hung Pai, who captained Team Hong Kong, said he was “a little disappointed not to play with Messi” but enjoyed playing with the other players.
The situation escalated. Even the Hong Kong government got involved.
“The Hong Kong government has officially expressed its ‘extreme disappointment’ at Messi’s injury absence,” the Guardian reported. The match, which Messi missed with a hamstring injury, went on sale in December and more than 38,000 fans snapped up tickets in the first hour.”
According to reports, the Hong Kong government said, “The government and all football fans are extremely disappointed with Messi’s absence from this match and the club’s actions. The organizers owe all fans a satisfactory explanation,” the official statement read.
The situation is reminiscent of Juventus’ visit to South Korea in 2019.
Cristiano Ronaldo was plagued by a “no-show” controversy in July 2019 when he failed to appear in a preseason friendly between his former club Juventus and the K League All-Stars, breaking the terms of his contract that required him to play at least 45 minutes.
Not only did Ronaldo not attend fan-facing events such as autograph signings, citing his physical condition, but he was also criticized for his behavior in the game, 파워볼실시간 sitting on the bench for the entire 90 minutes.
Fans who paid up to 400,000 won for tickets believing that Ronaldo would play filed a lawsuit against the organizers for damages. Fans have since expressed their disappointment with Ronaldo by nicknaming him “Nalgangdu,” a combination of the words “nalgang” and “Ronaldo.