Lionel Messi, left, sits on the bench during a friendly between Hong Kong XI and Inter Miami, in Hong Kong, on Feb. 4.PETER PARKS/Getty Images
Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi is used to crowds screaming his name. But not with such anger – or accompanied by the word “refund.”
A much-hyped exhibition match between Mr. Messi’s Inter Miami and Hong Kong XI ended in boos and jeers Sunday after the U.S. club’s star player spent the entire game on the bench.
As it became clear Mr. Messi was not going to play, chants of “refund, refund” and “we want Messi” could be heard from the 38,000-strong crowd at Hong Kong Stadium. After Miami’s 4-1 victory, co-owner David Beckham was drowned out by boos as he tried to thank the crowd “for their incredible support.”
Hong Kong had been gripped by Messi fever for weeks leading up to the Argentine’s arrival in the city Friday. Tickets for the match, costing between $150 and $840, sold out in less than an hour, and some fans flew in from as far as Australia and South Korea.
The Major League Soccer side has little fanbase in Asia, where English Premier League clubs are most popular, and Miami leaned heavily on Mr. Messi’s star power to promote the match. A video shared by the club hours before kickoff Sunday extensively featured the Argentine and showed him training alongside other players the night before at a session attended by tens of thousands of fans.
“Words can’t describe my feelings,” 19-year-old student Gary Sheng said of watching Mr. Messi at the Saturday session. “When the football king is just a few metres away from you, this excitement is beyond words.”
But that proximity bred frustration Sunday as it became clear to many fans they had spent hundreds of dollars to watch a man widely considered the greatest footballer of his generation sit on the bench. According to Miami coach Gerardo Martino, Mr. Messi had a groin injury and team doctors felt it was too risky for him to play.
After tough pandemic rules decimated Hong Kong tourism in recent years, officials have been working to attract major events to the Chinese territory, with mixed success. Last month, lawmakers bickered over who was to blame for Hong Kong being left off Taylor Swift’s tour of Asia, which kicks off Wednesday in Tokyo.
Hosting Inter Miami had been seen as a big success, and the government put up about $2.7-million in sponsorship and subsidies for the match – money that seemed well spent, as both local and visiting fans filled the streets around the team’s hotel and Hong Kong Stadium over the weekend.
But congratulations quickly turned into recriminations after Sunday’s debacle. In a statement, the government said it was “extremely disappointed Messi could neither play in the friendly match nor explain to the fans in person upon request.”
Culture, Sports and Tourism Secretary Kevin Yeung said Monday that officials had asked the organizers to at least let Mr. Messi take to the field and interact with fans or participate in the trophy ceremony if he could not play.
“Unfortunately, as you all saw, this did not work out,” Mr. Yeung told reporters.
He added that a key part of the agreement between the government and organizer Tatler Asia “was for Messi to participate in the match for at least 45 minutes subject to fitness and safety considerations.”
Before the match, Tatler “reaffirmed that Messi was going to play,” he added.
At a hastily arranged news conference Monday evening, Tatler Asia CEO Michel Lamunière put the blame on Inter Miami, saying the official team sheet distributed ahead of the game listed Mr. Messi and recent signing Luis Suarez “as substitutes, and therefore fit to play.”
Lionel Messi's non-appearance was a disappointment for the fans who snapped up all 40,000 tickets at Hong Kong Stadium within an hour when they went on sale in December.Louise Delmotte/The Associated Press
“Accordingly, Tatler Asia had every expectation that both would play the game,” he said. After it became clear neither would take to the pitch, Tatler “subsequently spent the second half urging the Inter Miami CF leadership to instruct Messi to address the fans, to no avail.”
Weeks of promotion by Tatler heavily featured Mr. Messi, and the clamour for refunds was immense Monday. Mr. Lamuniere said his company shared fans’ frustration and had decided “to officially withdraw its application” for major event status, forgoing the $2.7-million in government support.
Inter Miami, which cancelled a planned final appearance Monday, did not respond to a request for comment.
The victory over Hong Kong was the U.S. side’s only win in its preseason Asia tour. Last week, Miami suffered a 6-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, which has also invested heavily in foreign talent, including former Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
Like Mr. Messi, the Portuguese international was unable to play an exhibition match in China last month due to injury. But unlike Miami, Al Nassr decided to postpone the game, apologized and promised refunds.
“In football,” Mr. Ronaldo said in a message to his Chinese fans, “some things you cannot control.”
With files from Reuters.
James Griffiths