The organizers still confirmed that Messi would play before the game started, but the Hong Kong SAR government had not yet paid the sponsorship fee.

　　China News Service, February 5 (Xinhua) According to Hong Kong's Sing Tao Network, on the 4th, International Miami went to Hong Kong to participate in an exhibition match. International star Messi did not appear in the end, which caused dissatisfaction among fans. At noon on the 5th, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Yang Yunxiong, and the Sports Commissioner, Mr Wong Desam, met with the media to respond to the incident.

　　Yang Runxiong pointed out that in the match on the 4th, the Hong Kong team performed well, but Messi did not play. The SAR government and fans were very disappointed. The Hong Kong SAR government has cooperated with the organizer Tatler this time. The sponsorship contract stipulates that Messi must play for at least 45 minutes unless there are problems with safety and health conditions.

   The picture shows Messi (front) walking out of the tunnel before the game. Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu

　　Before the start of the game, the organizers still confirmed that Messi would play in the second half. However, they discovered that Messi did not play in the second half and had requested the organizers to contact the team immediately. The organizer only pointed out at that time that Messi was unable to play due to injury, and the SAR government requested on the spot to arrange for Messi to play. Ten minutes before the end of the game, the organizers once again confirmed that Messi could not play. The SAR government immediately took a series of remedial actions, such as asking the organizers whether they could ask Messi to explain to the fans in person and receive the award on behalf of the team, but nothing was done. .

　　The SAR government believes that Tatler has the responsibility to personally explain the incident to the public. This is a highly publicized event, and the SAR government has provided some venue coordination. It has spent a long time in the past month, so I can feel the disappointment even more. The SAR government will learn from experience and discuss with the Large-Scale Sports Events Committee to further improve the work in the future and will continue to work hard to organize grand events.

　　As for the HK$16 million sponsored by the event, Yang Runxiong pointed out that the SAR government has not yet paid, and will discuss the performance of this event with the organizer Tatler in the next few weeks before making a decision.