The organizer of the friendly match for the American team Inter Miami, for which Lionel Messi plays, in Hong Kong, which was held earlier this week without the Argentine star participating, will return 50% of the ticket price to the public after widespread protests after Messi sat on the bench throughout the match while he participated. In a similar confrontation in Japan just days later.
Tatler Asia, the private agency that organized the match, said in a statement on its Instagram page that it felt “deep regret and disappointment” due to the disappointment experienced by the fans after Messi sat on the bench throughout last Sunday’s match.
The Hong Kong match attracted 40,000 fans, some of whom paid about 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (640 US dollars) for one ticket.
Tatler Asia said that all holders of tickets sold through official channels will receive 50% of the price.
The agency confirmed that it was in contact with the Hong Kong government to resolve the problem.
Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino said that his team’s technical and medical staff acknowledged that Messi could not participate in last Sunday’s friendly match in Hong Kong because he was not fully fit, but he participated as a substitute in the 60th minute in Tokyo against Japanese league champion Vissel Kobe the following Wednesday.
Tatler Asia said: “We learned that Messi will not participate in the match and we asked the owners and management of Inter Miami to ask him to get up and interact with the crowd and explain the reasons for his not participating in the match.
“(But) he didn’t. The fact that Messi and (Luis) Suarez played in the Japan match on February 7th seems like another slap in the face,” according to Reuters.
In the Japan match, which was held at the National Stadium in Tokyo, there were many empty seats and the organizers sold only 28,614 tickets.
Chinese state media, Hong Kong politicians and some football fans criticized Messi’s participation in Japan on Wednesday, while the state-run Global Times newspaper said Messi’s absence from Sunday’s match raises many questions about Hong Kong being treated differently.
In a statement, the Hong Kong government said that returning the funds to the public showed that Tatler Asia had made every effort to arrange the return of the funds, adding that many had some questions about what happened.
“The government hopes that Inter Miami will finally provide a reasonable explanation to the citizens of Hong Kong and to the fans who came to Hong Kong to watch the match,” the statement added.
Tatler Asia said that Inter Miami pledged to play its best players, including Messi and Suarez, who comes from Uruguay, for 45 minutes if no injuries occur.
#Bilad #newspaper #Messi…the #organizer #Hong #Kong #match #returns #ticket #money #fans
