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Lionel Messi: Chinese football fans are frustrated that they were unable to marvel at the Argentine's ball skills at Inter Miami's game in Hong Kong
Photo:
Louise Delmotte/dpa
After the ongoing anger over football star Lionel Messi's failure to play in Hong Kong, Chinese organizers have now canceled a planned friendly match by the Argentine national team. As the sports authorities in Hangzhou announced on Friday evening local time, an Argentinian game scheduled for March would be canceled "for known reasons." The national team was scheduled to play against Nigeria in the eastern Chinese city.
Last Sunday, world champion Messi and his club Inter Miami from the US Major League Soccer visited the Hong Kong XI. Around 38,000 fans came from as far away as Australia to see the Argentine play. But the 36-year-old, like former FC Barcelona striker Luis Suárez, sat on the bench for 90 minutes in the Americans' 4-1 win. Messi later said he had adductor problems. However, the fact that the Argentine was back on the pitch just a few days later on Wednesday in the friendly against Japanese team Vissel Kobe further fueled the frustration of the Chinese fans.
On Friday, the organizer in Hong Kong had already announced a partial refund of the tickets amounting to 50 percent of the purchase price. The government of China's Special Administrative Region, which had demanded an explanation for the debacle, welcomed the organizer's offer.
hen/dpa