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Hong Kong
cnn
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Thousands of soccer fans in Hong Kong were disappointed when the Argentine superstar Lionel Messi He was unable to take the field in an Inter Miami friendly match on Sunday.
What began with overwhelming applause and ecstasy ended in boos and calls for refunds at the 40,000-seat Hong Kong stadium.
Inter Miami, looking to prove a point after going winless during a pre-season world tour, comfortably defeated a Hong Kong XI 4-1 in an event dubbed Tatler XFEST Hong Kong.
But even before and during the game, there was a feeling that the score didn’t matter to the fans; More important was witnessing Messi, World Cup champion and eight-time Ballon d’Or winneradorns the field.
Even the Hong Kong government has shared its dismay at the 36-year-old’s absence from the match.
“Messi was unable to play in today’s friendly match and the government and fans are equally disappointed by the arrangements made by the event organizer,” he said in a statement on Sunday. “The event organizer owes the fans an explanation.”
New signing Luis Suárez was also not present despite attending the pre-match press conference, while other notable players, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, were only substituted in the second half.
Louise Delmotte/AP
Messi was left on the bench due to an injury during Sunday’s match in Hong Kong.
Additional trophy presentations, fireworks and a speech by club co-owner David Beckham were met with catcalls and boos in a rather awkward end to the trip. The boos continued when the big screen cameras focused on Messi.
The change of mood occurred towards the last 20 minutes of the match: the cries of “We want Messi” became “Where is Messi?”, while boos were heard every time a player who was not Messi was substituted in field.
In stoppage time there were also shouts of “refund, refund, refund” in both English and Cantonese. According ReutersTickets went on sale in December and cost between HK$880 and HK$4,880 ($113-$624).
CNN has contacted the event’s organizer, Tatler, for comment.
In a statement on Sunday, Tatler
Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino explained that the decision not to field Messi was made very late and under the recommendation of the club’s medical staff.
“We understand the fans’ reception in the absence of Leo and Luis,” Martino said apologetically, also thanking Hong Kong for the “care” they had received throughout the weekend.
“This was a decision made together with our medical team. We checked their physical well-being and they were at risk of injury if they went out on the field and couldn’t play.
“We understand the disappointment of the fans and we ask for their forgiveness. I wish we could have played against them even for a short time, but the risk was too great.”
Martino was pressured about the type of injury Messi suffered because he had already had them. reports that the star player had a hamstring problem since Miami’s previous friendly against Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
“Leo has inflammation of the adductor as we saw in the images of his muscles. We expected an improvement, but the situation has been like this for many days,” Martino said, adding that Suárez suffered a knee injury during the trip to Saudi Arabia.
“We were constantly reviewing it with the medical team and also had to consider our obligations with the upcoming MLS (Major League Soccer). So we came to the conclusion of not playing with Messi in the game.
“Actually, we have been evaluating Leo’s condition day by day. Yesterday (Saturday) he was in final training and we evaluated him at the hotel until this morning. The decision was not made until the afternoon.”
Louise Delmotte/AP
Suárez and Martino appear at a press conference this Friday.
Hong Kong XI captain Yapp Hung-fai, who played in the first half of Sunday’s match, said he was “of course quite disappointed” not to have played against Messi, but was still grateful for the experience.
“On a personal level, I’m obviously quite disappointed because he doesn’t go to Hong Kong much,” said Yapp, who captained a team of top-flight players.
“But we have to think about our own performance and not focus too much on the rivals, who were still at a high level. Playing in a full stadium is already a satisfaction.”
The general sentiment was shared by local Messi superfan Christer Leung, who heads the city’s Argentine national team supporters club.
“I think everyone is disappointed,” Leung, who named his son Lionel after the striker, told CNN.
“It was unexpected, I thought he would show up for at least five minutes. Otherwise we would not have paid the ticket price to enter here. You heard the mood, which I think was justified but unnecessary at the same time.
“This whole matter of Messi in Hong Kong has been brewing for quite some time. Everyone was very excited and there was a lot of drama with the tickets.
“The training (on Saturday) was also quite disappointing because he didn’t really do much and was interrupted. Everyone expected today to be a little more, so everyone will be disappointed.
“But, as his long-time supporter, I fully respect the decision not to play him if he is really suffering, because he is 36 years old.
“I blame Inter Miami for scheduling so many friendlies in so many different places. They should have invited everyone to come to the United States. I guess they wanted to grow the brand internationally, which makes sense.”
Lam Yik/USA Today Sports/Reuters
Inter Miami’s match against the Hong Kong XI was played in front of a full house.
“Messimanía” had captured the city with the team’s arrival on Friday when fans invaded the hotel where Miami was staying. Meanwhile, the stadium had already reached its maximum capacity during the team’s outdoor training the night before.
Ardent support for Messi also gripped mainland China last summer after the Argentina national team played a friendly match against Australia in Beijing.
It was the superstar’s seventh time in China, and the eighth could come in March, as Argentina confirmed two friendly matches against Nigeria and Ivory Coast in Hangzhou and Beijing.
Inter Miami now travels to Japan for a friendly against Vissel Kobe on Wednesday.