Lionel Messi of Inter Miami was met with boos from local fans as he did not appear in the preseason exhibition game against the Hong Kong Best 11 team held in Hong Kong.
On the 4th (Korean time), Inter Miami, the American professional soccer team, defeated the Hong Kong Best 11 team 4-1 in a preseason exhibition game held at Hong Kong Stadium.
Global soccer stars like Messi and Luis Suarez of Inter Miami were listed in the player roster, but they stayed on the bench until the end of the game.
According to AFP, around 40,000 fans who filled the Hong Kong Stadium in the sky-blue and white striped uniform symbolizing Argentina and the pink uniform of Inter Miami started chanting “Messi, come out!” when there was no sign of Messi appearing even after the middle of the second half.
From 35 minutes into the second half, the booing sound chanting “refund, refund” grew louder, and the fans’ protests peaked when the final whistle blew.
After the match, David Beckham, the co-owner of Inter Miami, grabbed the microphone to acknowledge the intense interest in the exhibition game, and the fans voiced their strong protests while giving a thumbs down to Beckham.
One fan expressed anger, saying, “A game without Messi playing is no different from a regular Hong Kong soccer league game worth 80 Hong Kong dollars (about $10.29), but the ticket for this exhibition game was 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $639).”
Inter Miami’s coach, Gerardo Martino, pleaded for forgiveness in a post-match interview, saying, “I know many fans are disappointed, but the risk was too great even to let them play for a moment.”
Coach Martino explained, “The club’s medical team advised us that if Messi and Suarez were to play, the risk of aggravating their injuries was very high. Messi has a problem with his adductor, and Suarez has a knee problem.”
According to Reuters, Hong Kong authorities announced that they would cut funding to Tatler Asia, the organizer of this exhibition game.
The Major Sports Events Committee (MSEC) of Hong Kong, which provided about 16 million Hong Kong dollars (about $2.04 million) for the exhibition game between Inter Miami and the Hong Kong Best 11 team, released a statement saying, “The authorities and fans were greatly disappointed that Messi did not play in the match. The organizer who prepared the event needs to explain.”
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