Lionel Messi accused of 'embarrassing Beijing' after no-show in Hong Kong; organisers offer refunds

Lionel Messi's absence from Inter Miami's pre-season friendly against Hong Kong XI "has far exceeded the realm of sports" even as organisers apologised and offered 50% refund. The World Cup winner has been accused of seeking to embarrass Beijing -- or even engaging in a sinister foreign plot.The Argentine footballer and David Beckham co-owned Inter Miami sparked fury in Hong Kong on Sunday when he did not play in a friendly, citing injury.Fans who had splashed upwards of 4,800 Hong Kong dollars ($500) to see Messi chanted "Refund!", gave thumbs-down signs and drowned out Beckham with jeers as he tried to thank the crowd.Read | Drama in Hong Kong a reminder of why fans matterJust days later, however, he played 30 minutes in a friendly match in Tokyo -- causing outrage and accusations that he had singled out China.China’s state-run newspaper, The Global Times, published an editorial that said the impact of the controversy “has far exceeded the realm of sports.”It further suggested that sinister foreign forces had conspired to hurt the city's reputation."One theory is that (Messi's) actions have political motives, as Hong Kong intends to boost [the] economy through the event and external forces deliberately wanted to embarrass Hong Kong through this incident," it said."Judging from the development of the situation, the possibility of this speculation cannot be ruled out."The Hong Kong government demanded an explanation from the match's organisers, who had sought public funding for the event, and said that they had been repeatedly assured Messi would play.Top Hong Kong government advisor Regina Ip fumed that Messi should "never be allowed to return".[caption id="attachment_13696002" align="alignnone" width="640"]

Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi watches his team's exhibition match in Hong Kong from the dugout with teammates. AP[/caption]"Hong Kong people hate Messi, Inter-Miami, and the black hand behind them, for the deliberate and calculated snub to Hong Kong," Ip said on social media platform X, deploying a phrase commonly used by the city's officials to allege sinister foreign interference. "His lies and hypocrisy are disgusting," she said.Meanwhile the legendary player has said it was "bad luck" that he couldn't play and that he hopes to return to the city. However it was met with mocking comments and memes.Some featured Messi as an Imperial Japanese soldier -- a reference to his alleged preference for the country over China."Messi is very rude and arrogant, which is really annoying," one user wrote.

Reflecting the sore feelings, Hong Kong actress Samantha Ko Hoi-ling was also forced to apologise on the platform after she told local media in the city that she "understood" his decision to skip the game.But some suggested the reaction was overblown."Do we really need to turn it into a struggle session?" wrote one Weibo user in a reference to China's bloody Cultural Revolution, when alleged enemies of leader Mao Zedong were forced into public confessions.Hu Xijin, a prominent nationalist commentator, wrote that criticism should be "measured so as not to elevate his status"."As if a single careless manifestation of his could touch our great nation and hurt the feelings of our entire society."Organisers apologise, offer partial refundTatler Asia, the event's organisers, said it was "deeply sorry" and promised those who had bought tickets a 50 percent refund.In an Instagram post, Tatler Asia said it was upset by “the seeming lack of respect shown to the crowd.”The company reiterated it had pleaded with Inter Miami’s management to urge Messi to explain to the spectators after it learned the football star, who was required to play for 45 minutes unless injured under their contract, would not be playing.“He didn’t. The fact that Messi ... played in Japan on February 7th feels like another slap in the face,” it said.The organiser said it had been in talks with the government on how to resolve the issue and details of the refund arrangement would be announced by mid-March.“We will not escape our responsibility as organizers and that is why Tatler Asia will offer all those who purchased match-day tickets from the official channels a 50% refund,” it said.On Monday the company said it would withdraw an application for funding from the city government for staging the match.In response to the announcement, the Hong Kong government welcomed the arrangement, calling it as a responsible move. But it said the Hong Kong society still has many questions over the incident, and hoped Inter Miami can provide a reasonable explanation.