Hong Kong fans and officials angry over Lionel Messi’s failure to play during Inter Miami fixture

Fans at a full-house Hong Kong Stadium on Sunday night booed and called for ticket refunds after Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi failed to feature in a friendly game between his Inter Miami and a Hong Kong all-star team.

Prevented from playing due to injury, Messi’s non-appearance during the Major League Soccer side’s pre-season tour also the Hong Kong Government to express their “extreme disappointment” after the star remained on the substitute’s bench during the sold-out game.

Fans, who snapped up more than 38,000 tickets within an hour of them going on sale in December, could be heard booing in the late stages of the game and at the final whistle.

In a statement released after the match, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) advised “regarding Messi not playing the match today, the government, as well as all football fans, are extremely disappointed about the organisers’ arrangement. The organisers owe all football fans an explanation.”

Inter Miami coach Tata Martino defended the decision, saying that the eight-time Ballon D’Or winner, as well as former Barcelona player Luis Suárez who also stayed on the bench, could not be risked.

Kevin Yeung, HKSAR Secretary for the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, went on to say during a media briefing on Monday that it was only confirmed that Messi would not play 10 minutes before the game ended.

The organiser had originally confirmed before the game that Messi would play in the second half. The sponsorship contract stipulated that unless there were safety or health concerns, Messi was required to play for a minimum of 45 minutes. The local government immediately approached organiser Tatler XFEST after it noticed that Messi didn't take the field as scheduled in the second half, according to Secretary Yeung.

Secretary Yeung said remedial proposals to ask Messi to talk to fans after the match or receive a prize on behalf of the team were all rejected.

Fans who filled the 40,000 capacity venue a day earlier at least saw the 2022 World Cup winner in an open training session along with the Miami co-owner David Beckham.

Messi’s on field time has been limited during the tour with him only playing the final seven minutes of a fixture in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Thursday. Messi played the final seven minutes of that losing effort.

Lured immense commercial interests, high profile clubs regularly undertaker Asian tours at the cost of the players' intentions and fan sentiment.

In spite of Messi's no-show in Hong Kong, Inter Miami generated significant income from the fixture.

The friendly match had been awarded an ‘M’ Mark status which is granted to major sporting events held in Hong Kong. The designation enables event organizers to access specific assistance measures provided by the local government. Hong Kong had announced the allocation of a total grant of HK$16 million (US$2 million) to support the event.

A major star not playing resembles Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr's China trip in January, when Cristiano Ronaldo was forced to pull out of the friendly games against two Chinese teams due to a muscle injury.

Ronaldo later apologised to fans.

Inter Miami’s Asian tour finishes in Japan tomorrow (Wednesday 7th February) with a game against Vissel Kobe.

Image: Promotion for Inter Miami's Hong Kong fixture featuring Lionel Messi (centre) and other Inter Miami stars.