The organization that organized the football match, which received great fanfare and was intended to entertain the fans with the presence of star Lionel Messi in Hong Kong, announced that it intends to return some of the money related to the match, after days of violent reactions from angry fans and the government over the absence of the World Cup winner.
Complaints from Hong Kong fans, which followed Messi remaining on the bench for the entire 90 minutes of the match between American Inter Miami and the Hong Kong Stars due to a thigh injury suffered by the Argentine star earlier this week, were transmitted to the Chinese mainland after the star participated. The Argentine played for 30 minutes in a match in Tokyo, in Inter Miami's last friendly match before the start of the season, on Wednesday.
The Hong Kong government said offering to refund some of the money linked to the match was a responsible move.
Disappointed fans
Over the past two days, many social media users on the Chinese mainland have expressed their disappointment over Messi's non-attendance, with the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper publishing
an editorial in which it said the impact of the controversy surrounding the football star had “got beyond… Sports World”.
In an Instagram post on Friday, the organiser, Tatler SEA, apologized to those who were disappointed by the Hong Kong match, and said it was disturbed by the “clear disrespect for the fans”.
She reiterated that she appealed to the Inter Miami management to urge Messi to explain the situation to the fans after she learned that the soccer star, who was required to play for 45 minutes unless he was injured under his contract, would not play.
The regulator also said it was in talks with the government about how to resolve the issue, and that details of refund arrangements would be announced by mid-March.
Tatler Sia said on Monday that it would withdraw its application for funding from the city government to organize the match.
In response to the announcement, the Hong Kong government welcomed the arrangement in a statement, describing it as a responsible step.
But she said that the Hong Kong community still has many questions about the incident, especially after seeing Messi actively playing in Japan. She expressed her hope that Inter Miami would be able to provide a reasonable explanation to the public.
Messi explains why
Following Sunday's PR disaster, Messi attempted during a press conference in Tokyo to address the widespread disappointment by explaining why he did not feature in the Hong Kong match in the first place.
Messi said on the Chinese social media platform “Weibo” that it was unfortunate that he was unable to play in Hong Kong due to injury.
He also said in the post that he hopes to return to Hong Kong to play for his fans and go to mainland China to share the joy of football.
Muscle works in Tokyo
However, his appearance in the Tokyo match on Wednesday heightened criticism of his absence from the Hong Kong match, as the government sought to use Sunday's match to boost the city's image as a center for major events.
On Wednesday night, the Global Times newspaper said in its editorial that Messi and Inter Miami’s explanations were not convincing, and referred to some speculation about the moves.
“One theory is that their actions were politically motivated, as Hong Kong intended to boost the economy through the event,” she added.
It also stated that “external forces deliberately wanted to embarrass Hong Kong through this incident.”
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