In Tokyo, Lionel Messi (M.) played with Inter Miami against Vissel Kobe.
dpa
A few days ago, Lionel Messi sat on the bench for 90 minutes at an Inter Miami friendly in Hong Kong, to the annoyance of many spectators. The Argentine will be back on the ball in another game in Tokyo.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Messi sat on the bench during Inter Miami’s 4-1 win in Hong Kong, drawing the ire of many fans who came to see him play.
- Just a few days later, the world champion made a partial appearance in Tokyo, which increased the anger of many Hong Kong supporters.
- The US club Inter Miami from Major League Soccer is currently on a tour of Asia and is preparing for the new season.
Messi sat on the bench during Inter Miami’s 4-1 win in the Chinese Special Administrative Region, drawing the ire of many fans who came to see him play.
The Hong Kong government also complained after the game. Sports secretary Kevin Yeung said there had been contractual assurances that Messi would play at least 45 minutes provided there were no safety and health concerns. Many of the approximately 38,000 football fans in the stadium in Hong Kong booed and demanded their entrance fees back.
Negative PR – Messi trending on Weibo
Messi’s absence was also a big topic on social media in China. At times, half of the top 10 trending topics on the popular Twitter-like messaging service Weibo were related to the football superstar, like «The Guardian» reported.
The eight-time world footballer regretted his non-participation at a press conference before the Japan game on Wednesday. In truth, he was simply unlucky with injuries, said Messi: “It’s a shame because I always want to play, I want to be there, and especially when we travel so far and people are so happy to see us. »
Messi with injury update: “I have a good feeling”
547 complaints after Hong Kong game
He also apologized to his Chinese fans on Weibo, writing in Chinese and Spanish: “Hopefully we can come back and play a game in Hong Kong.” According to the Chinese-controlled Global Times, the Hong Kong Consumer Council said it had received 547 complaints related to Messi’s absence, involving a total of 3.64 million Hong Kong dollars (about 400,000 Swiss francs). Franconia) went.
The anger in Hong Kong only increased because the world champion played at least half an hour at the next friendly match in Tokyo. The 36-year-old came on as a substitute in the second half against Vissel Kobe. The game ended 0-0, Kobe won 4-3 in the penalty shootout. Messi didn’t take a penalty.
In a commentary, the Global Times wrote (via Guardian): “The game in Hong Kong was the only one of Messi’s six friendlies on this trip where he was not present. The situation … has increased doubts and suspicions about the integrity of Inter Miami and Messi himself.”
SB10/DPA
2024-02-08 09:38:10
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