Inter Miami traveled to Hong Kong on Sunday February 4 to play a friendly match against a local team. A particularly anticipated meeting for Hong Kong supporters who expected to see superstars of the discipline, particularly Lionel Messi. The organizer of the match had committed to playing the Argentinian for at least 45 minutes, revealed this Monday, February 5, the Minister of Sports of Hong Kong. But the world champion did not not left the sidelinessparking public fury.
Questioned, Tatler Asia regretted in a press release published Monday the absence of the Argentinian, and announced that it would forgo public funding amounting to 1.9 million euros. The CEO of Tatler Asia has indeed confirmed that Messi is under contract to enter the field, barring injury.
However, the captain of the world champion Argentina team officially suffers from hamstring strainand he remained on the bench for the duration of the friendly match won 4-1 against a Hong Kong selection on Sunday.
Tens of thousands of furious supporters
His crime provoked the anger of 38,323 spectators who had paid a minimum of 125 dollars, or 115 euros, and in many cases five times more, to see their idol in action. Chants of “Repay!” and the screams crescendoed until the final whistle when Englishman David Beckham, co-owner of the Miami club, was drowned out by boos when he tried to thank the crowd.
The Hong Kong government issued two consecutive statements on Sunday evening, saying it “extremely disappointed” and threatening to withdraw €1.9 million in public funding from Tatler Asia, a media outlet specializing in fashion, luxury goods and leisure.
Yeung, who attended the match at the stadium with other officials including Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, assured that the local government had tried to negotiate with the organizer when the 36-year-old failed to appear on the pitch at the start of the second half. The negotiations resulted in a stalemate ten minutes before the end of the matchbecause “solutions” such as having Messi appear on the pitch to interact with the fans and receive the trophy were refused.
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2024-02-05 16:03:32
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