2024-02-10T05:11:57+00:00
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/ Chinese sports officials have cancelled a friendly football match scheduled for next March between Argentina and Nigeria amid growing anger at Argentine star Messi for not participating with Inter Miami in a friendly match held in Hong Kong last Sunday.
Argentina were scheduled to play Nigeria in Hangzhou, China, in March before facing Ivory Coast in Beijing, but Messi’s failure to play for Inter Miami on Sunday sparked a wave of anger against him among fans.
Tatler Asia, the private agency that organised the match in Hong Kong, announced that it would refund 50 per cent of the ticket price to the public after widespread protests after Messi sat on the bench for the entire match while he played in a similar match in Japan just days later.
Anger grew on Friday as Hangzhou sports officials announced that Argentina’s friendly against Nigeria would not take place.
“As a commercial event, a company negotiated with the Argentine national football team to hold a friendly match in March this year in Hangzhou. In light of the current reasons that are clearly known, and according to the relevant authorities, the conditions are not conducive to holding the friendly match, and accordingly, we have decided to cancel the match,” the officials said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear whether Argentina’s other friendly against Ivory Coast in Beijing would also be cancelled.
Tatler Asia, a private agency, said in a statement on its Instagram page that it was “deeply sorry and disappointed” by the fans’ disappointment after Messi sat on the bench for the entire match last Sunday.
The Hong Kong match attracted 40,000 fans, some of whom paid around HK$5,000 ($640) per ticket.
According to Tatler Asia, all ticket holders sold through official channels will receive 50 percent of the price.
The agency confirmed that it was in contact with the Hong Kong government to resolve the issue.
Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino said his team’s technical and medical staff had agreed that Messi could not play in last Sunday’s friendly in Hong Kong because he was not fully fit, but he came on as a 60th-minute substitute in Tokyo against Japanese league champions Vissel Kobe the following Wednesday.
“We knew Messi wouldn’t be playing in the game and we asked Inter Miami’s owners and management to ask him to get up, interact with the crowd and explain why he wouldn’t be playing in the game, but he didn’t,” Tatler Asia said. “The fact that Messi and (Luis) Suarez played in the Japan game on February 7 feels like another slap in the face.”
In the Japan match, which was held at the National Stadium in the capital, Tokyo, there were many empty seats and the organizers sold only 28,614 tickets.
Chinese state media, Hong Kong politicians and some soccer fans criticised Messi’s participation in Japan on Wednesday, while the state-run Global Times said Messi’s absence from Sunday’s match raised questions about how Hong Kong was being treated differently.
In a statement, the Hong Kong government said the return of funds to the public showed that Tatler Asia had made every effort to arrange the return of the funds, adding that many had questions about what had happened.
“The government hopes that Inter Miami will eventually provide a reasonable explanation to the people of Hong Kong and the fans who came to the country to watch the match,” the statement added.
According to Tatler Asia, Inter Miami had pledged to play their best players, including Messi and the Uruguayan Suarez, for 45 minutes if there were no injuries.