Hong Kong’s Lionel Messi blame game: is this the smoking gun that nails Inter Miami?
- A piece of paper and a tweet leave David Beckham’s US club with questions to answer, after they depart Hong Kong leaving a trail of heartbreak and acrimony
- The no-show of star player Messi was blamed on an injury, but the organisers say naming him as a substitute suggested he was fit
As the blame game continued in Hong Kong over football fans being denied the chance to see Lionel Messi play in the city, one piece of paper and a social media post were emerging as bones of contention.
Amid the inquest over Inter Miami’s match against a local team on Sunday, when a near-40,000 crowd paid handsomely to watch the world’s greatest player only to leave disappointed, the event’s organiser Tatler Asia has said naming Messi as a substitute amounted to the US club indicating he was fit to play.
The non-appearance of the Argentinian was attributed by Miami afterwards to injury, with a decision having been made in the afternoon that he could not be risked.
But rather than being mistakenly assumed to be involved through his mere presence on the Miami bench, Messi was indeed listed on Sunday on the team sheet that was submitted to match officials and signed by a member of club staff, as is the norm in professional football.
So, too, was Luis Suarez, the second biggest name in the team, who also did not play.
Inter Miami have been approached for a response to Tatler’s comments on Monday, when CEO Michel Lamuniere read a statement expressing his organisation’s surprise and disappointment at Messi’s no-show.
“On Sunday, before kick-off, the official team sheet, a list of the players who are available to play in the game, which was submitted by the Inter Miami CF team and signed by the head coach Gerardo Martino, showed Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as substitutes and therefore fit to play,” Lamuniere said.
“Accordingly, Tatler Asia had every expectation that both would play.”
However, Inter Miami also posted a team line-up on social media platform X as the match kicked off, which omitted Messi, suggesting some people behind the scenes knew he would be unable to play.
Lamuniere was speaking on Monday after the Hong Kong government lashed out at Tatler in a statement late on Sunday.
Hong Kong’s leader John Lee Ka-chiu had attended the match and been assured Messi would play. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said on Monday that officials were told 10 minutes before the game ended that Messi would not take part, by which point boos were ringing around Hong Kong Stadium as spectators realised their hopes had been dashed.
“Regarding Messi not playing the match today, the government, as well as all football fans, are extremely disappointed about the organiser’s arrangement,” the government’s subsequent statement read. “The organiser owes all football fans an explanation.”
The issue of the signed teamsheet is pertinent not only regarding fans calling for refunds but because of the government’s own investment in the match.
It had given the occasion “M” Mark status, designating it as a major sporting event that would receive public funding, and was allocated HK$15 million (US$1.92 million) for the match and a HK$1 million venue subsidy.
Sunday night’s government statement floated “the possibility of deducting sponsorship funds because Messi failed to play”, implying the terms of the agreement had not been met.
The government and Tatler have each said the contract with Miami stipulated that marquee players, including Messi, had to play unless ill or injured. Promotion of the event leaned heavily on the involvement of Messi, and match tickets cost up to HK$4,880 (US$624), with many attendees spending thousands more on travel.
Messi’s Hong Kong no-show: what contract said, when government knew, any refund?
Tatler has since withdrawn its application for the government funds, with its CEO’s statement suggesting the fault for any breached agreement or misplaced expectations may lie with Miami.
The US club travelled to Tokyo to play another exhibition match on Wednesday against Japanese champions Vissel Kobe.
