'Hong Kong's Ronaldo'... 40,000 Hong Kong Fans Furious Over Messi's 'No-Show'

Hong Kong Government "Message of Absence 10 Minutes Before Game End"
"Reconsideration of Organizer's Subsidy Payment"

Soccer star Lionel Messi's absence from the friendly match between his team Inter Miami and the Hong Kong professional soccer All-Star team due to injury has sparked widespread anger in Hong Kong.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 4th (local time), CNN reported that Inter Miami, with Lionel Messi on the roster, won 4-1 against the Hong Kong All-Stars at Hong Kong Stadium. Although the 40,000-seat stadium was sold out, the match that started with overwhelming cheers ended with boos and demands for refunds.

The match became controversial as Messi and Luis Su?rez were absent without prior notice. Tens of thousands of fans who gathered from Hong Kong, mainland China, and Southeast Asian countries to watch Messi play demanded refunds, calling it a "scam." Social media was flooded with angry fan complaints.

Earlier, Tatler Asia, the event organizer, heavily promoted the friendly match featuring Messi. Ticket prices soared up to 4,880 Hong Kong dollars (approximately 840,000 KRW).

In particular, the Hong Kong government, which spared no expense in providing substantial funding for the event, revealed that it was only informed about Messi and Su?rez's 'no-show' 10 minutes before the match ended, causing a major uproar.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing multiple sources, reported, "John Lee, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong who attended the match, was confident Messi would play," and added, "The Hong Kong government was told on the morning of the match that Messi would play as captain, and even when officials discovered Messi was not on the lineup just before the match, they were not informed of any changes in plans."

The Hong Kong government announced at a press conference that afternoon that it is reconsidering whether to provide the funding promised to the organizers due to Messi's absence from the match.

They further added that the original sponsorship contract between the Hong Kong government and Tatler stipulated that Messi must play at least 45 minutes in the match unless there were safety or health issues.

Kevin Yeung, Hong Kong's Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, explained, "Tatler announced that Messi would appear in the second half of the match, but 10 minutes before the end, Tatler stated that Messi would not play due to injury concerns."

He continued, "The Hong Kong government immediately demanded that Messi personally come onto the field to explain the situation to fans and receive the trophy on behalf of the team, but Inter Miami took no action."

After the match, Inter Miami owner David Beckham gave a speech to calm the situation, but the crowd's boos continued. When Messi appeared on camera, angry jeers erupted.

At the stadium, chants of "Refund, refund, refund" in both English and Cantonese echoed endlessly.

Miami coach Gerardo Martino explained after the match that the decision not to play Messi was based on the club medical staff's recommendation.

According to Hong Kong's The Standard, some enraged fans went to the hotel where Inter Miami was staying after the match, and one person was arrested for attempting to trespass.

Anthony Osaji, a Nigerian resident in Hong Kong who purchased a ticket for 3,600 Hong Kong dollars (about 616,000 KRW) to see Messi play, told SCMP, "I went to see the practice but only saw Messi stretching," and criticized, "Messi is not a supermodel. People don’t pay money just to see him sitting down."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.