China cancels match with Argentina after Messi episode in Hong Kong

(CNN) — A mainland Chinese city has canceled plans to host an Argentina national team football match amid a growing backlash in the country against its star player Lionel Messi.

Messi faced a lot of criticism after sitting on the bench during an exhibition match for his Major League Soccer team, Inter Miami, in Hong Kong.

A crowd of 40,000 attended the match in Hong Kong, many hoping to see the man widely regarded as the world’s best footballer, but the event ended badly when fans booed Messi in his absence. Criticized them and demanded a refund. Field.

Messi has since stated that he wanted to play, but was unable to do so due to injury. But this has not stopped the criticism against him on the Chinese Internet.

The latest sign of Chinese dissatisfaction with Messi came on Friday, when the Hangzhou Sports Bureau said it would no longer organize a friendly between Argentina and Nigeria at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre.

Without referring to the story from nearly a week earlier, the Hangzhou Sports Bureau said in a WeChat post that the match was canceled “in view of the reason known to all.”

“The conditions for holding the event have not yet matured and the decision to cancel it has been taken,” he said.

The Hangzhou match was one of two matches the Argentina team planned to play in China in March.

They are also scheduled to face Ivory Coast at the Beijing Workers’ Sports Complex.

PR a nightmare

When Inter Miami played the Hong Kong team on 4 February, Messi was left on the substitutes’ bench, despite repeated requests from the Hong Kong government and organizer Tatler Asia for him to take the field.

His coach later said that Messi was injured and the medical team advised him not to play at the last moment. Messi later said that it was “embarrassing” and that he wanted to participate.

His 30-minute appearance in a friendly match against Vissel Kobe in Japan a few days later further angered Chinese fans, with many, including pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong, comparing it to an insult to China.

Messi faces a public relations nightmare in one of the world’s most lucrative sporting markets, where he has until now enjoyed immense popularity.

On Friday, Hong Kong match organizer Tatler

“Our aspiration was to create an iconic moment in support of the government’s efforts to remind the world how relevant and exciting Hong Kong is. That dream has been shattered for us and for everyone who dreamed of seeing Messi on the field.” ” company, which publishes Tatler-branded magazines across Asia.