Fallout continues after Lionel Messi’s missed friendly in Hong Kong

“Beijing does not plan, for the moment, to organise the match in which Lionel Messi was to participate,” the Beijing Football Association said in a statement to local media.

Inter Miami, the MLS squad that last year signed the Argentine star, defeated a local League XI team, 4-1, in Hong Kong on Sunday. Messi remained on the bench with a reported hamstring injury as attendees shouted, “We want Messi!” Boos intensified during the second half as it became apparent Messi would not play. Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham later attempted to thank fans for their “incredible support” after the final whistle, but he was drowned out by jeers.

Hong Kong government officials, who had hoped the match would help enhance the city’s image as an attraction for international events amid a slow economic recovery, asked for an explanation as to why Messi did not play in the friendly. They said Messi was contracted to play at least 45 minutes.

The 36-year-old star, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in 2022, has been dealing with the hamstring issue but started all three of his team’s preseason games before coming on in the 83rd minute in a Feb. 1 loss to Al Nassr in Riyadh.

Luis Suárez, the Uruguayan striker who joined Inter Miami in December, also missed the match in Hong Kong with a knee injury. Miami Manager Gerardo Martino apologized to fans, adding the decision was “made with our medical staff. If there was a way they could have played even a little while we would have done it, but there was too much risk involved.”

Inter Miami concluded its Asia tour Wednesday with a friendly against Vissel Kobe in Tokyo. Messi came on as a substitute in the 60th minute.

“Despite our best intentions, we understand there has been disappointment over the absence of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in Sunday’s match and we are sorry that the two players could not participate,” the club said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday. “We also recognize that the late decision caused frustration among our Hong Kong supporters and the event promoter, Tatler Asia. We do feel it necessary to express that injuries are unfortunately a part of the beautiful game, and our player’s health must always come first.”

Spectators at the sold-out Hong Kong game had chanted “refund!” during Sunday’s match. Following days of backlash from government officials and angry fans, Tatler Asia announced a 50 percent refund on tickets, which cost up to $624.

On Friday, after Messi’s 30-minute stint in Tokyo, Hangzhou sports authorities made the move to cancel Argentina’s friendly against Nigeria. Beijing’s football association then followed suit on Saturday with its cancellation of the Argentina-Ivory Coast match.

“As a commercial event, a company and the Argentinean soccer team negotiated that the team would play a friendly match in March this year in the city of Hangzhou,” the Hangzhou Sports Bureau said in a statement. “In view of the current well-known reasons, according to the competent authorities, conditions to hold the friendly match are not mature, therefore [we] have decided to cancel it.”