Lionel Messi fans expressed frustration as the Argentine soccer star did not participate in a Hong Kong exhibition game, despite a sellout crowd of 40,000 fans who had paid to watch him play.
The match took place between a team of Hong Kong players and Inter Miami, the Major League Soccer club Messi joined in the previous year.
Despite the disappointment, Inter Miami won the match 4-1, and videos from Hong Kong Stadium showed fans chanting “Refund!” and booing during David Beckham’s address to the crowd after the game.
The Hong Kong government, which has been trying to win the world back to the increasingly isolated Chinese territory, said it was “deeply disappointed” by Messi’s absence from the match and threatened to reduce the 16 million Hong Kong dollars ($2 million) in sponsorship it had provided.
Tatler Asia, a luxury media brand and the game’s commercial partner, announced on Monday that it would retract its funding request from the government.
The public’s disappointment with the match is a setback for Hong Kong officials attempting to revitalise the international financial hub. In recent years, Hong Kong’s reputation has suffered due to a government crackdown on dissent and stringent Covid-19 restrictions.
If the Hong Kong government wants to “make Hong Kong a big city with big events, how could they let this happen?” Gong said.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday after the match, Inter Miami head coach Gerardo Martino acknowledged fans’ disappointment but said he didn’t want to risk worsening the injuries of Messi, 36, and his teammate Luis Suárez of Uruguay, 37, who also sat out the game.
Inter Miami embarked on a global exhibition tour in preparation for its upcoming regular season, set to commence on February 21.
Lionel Messi and his teammates arrived in Hong Kong on Friday after participating in a game in Saudi Arabia. Following the exhibition match in Hong Kong, the team is scheduled to play again in Japan on Wednesday. Fans from mainland China and various parts of Asia attended the event, eager to witness Messi’s performance, marking his return to Hong Kong after a hiatus since 2014.