China News Service, Hong Kong, February 5 (Reporter Liu Dawei) Regarding Messi’s absence from the exhibition match against the Hong Kong team, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Yang Yunxiong, said when meeting the media on the 5th that the SAR government’s sponsorship of this event One of the terms is that Messi must play at least 45 minutes in the game, barring safety or health concerns. Event organizers have the responsibility to explain the details of the incident to the public and fans, explain why Messi cannot play, and explain various arrangements between them and Inter Miami.
The picture shows Messi (front) walking out of the tunnel before the game. Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu
The Major League Soccer team Inter Miami played an exhibition match against the Hong Kong team at the Hong Kong Stadium on the afternoon of the 4th. However, the stars such as Messi and Suarez that the fans were looking forward to did not play until the end of the game that day. After the game, the team responded that Messi and others were unable to play due to injuries and apologized to the fans.
Yang Runxiong said that before the game started, the organizers confirmed that Messi would play in the second half. After the start of the second half, Messi still did not appear. The SAR government immediately followed up with the organizers and twice requested that Messi must appear. After receiving a reply from the organizer that "Messi was unable to play due to injury," the SAR government hoped to take remedial measures, including Messi being able to explain in person or accept the trophy on behalf of the team, but this ultimately failed to materialize.
This event was awarded the "M" brand recognition and corresponding funding support by the Major Sports Events Commission. Yang Runxiong said that this is a highly publicized event, and the SAR government has tried its best to coordinate and provide various assistance in addition to sponsorship. He can understand the disappointment of the fans. Event organizers have the responsibility to explain the details of the incident to the public and fans. At present, the SAR government has not paid the sponsorship fee, and will make a decision after discussing the performance of the event with the organizer.
Yang Runxiong added that since the comprehensive "customs clearance", Hong Kong has hosted a number of major events, which have been very successful overall, and have made Hong Kong's reputation as a city of major events increasingly resounding. The SAR government will continue to promote the establishment of major events in Hong Kong, and will also learn from this experience to further improve relevant work with the Major Sports Events Committee.
In response to this matter, the tournament organizer Tatler issued a statement late at night on the 4th, saying that it was extremely disappointed that Messi and Suarez did not play, and said that it had not received any news about Messi or Suarez's absence before the game. (over)