China indicated on Saturday and Friday that it was giving up hosting two friendly matches of the Argentina football team, after the outcry over the absence and attitude of Messi during a meeting in Hong Kong.
The Argentine selection had announced a tour in the Asian country from March 18 to 26, during which it was to face Nigeria in the large city of Hangzhou (east) and Ivory Coast in Beijing.
But the controversy surrounding the world champion, who until recently was very popular in China, has intensified in recent days.
Lionel Messi and his American club Inter Miami angered spectators when the Ballon d'Or remained on the bench on Sunday during a friendly match against a local team in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
The Argentine star had cited an injury.
The spectators, who had paid up to 4,800 Hong Kong dollars (570 euros), had expressed their dissatisfaction with the absence of the player, but especially with his attitude, because he had not addressed the public to apologize.
The controversy further swelled when, on Wednesday, Lionel Messi played 30 minutes of a friendly match in Japan, where several photos show him all smiles, while he seemed to have a closed face in Hong Kong.
“Many football fans and Internet friends have recently asked us for information about Lionel Messi's match in Beijing,” the Beijing Football Association, the body that oversees football in the capital, said on Saturday. Chinese.
“After verification (by our services), Beijing does not plan, for the moment, to organize the match in which Lionel Messi was to participate,” she stressed in a press release.
" Cleared "
The Albiceleste match scheduled in Hangzhou had already been canceled on Friday evening.
“Given the reasons that everyone knows, according to the competent authorities, the conditions for the event to take place are not met,” indicated the Hangzhou Sports Bureau.
On the social network Weibo, the vast majority of Internet users seemed to support the decision of the Chinese sports authorities.
“If he doesn't respect his Chinese fans, we can't let him take a cent from the Chinese's pockets,” reacted a user, in tune with the general tone of the messages.
“We gave him our love and he treats us like that.
This slap (of the cancellation) is deserved,” wrote another.
“Courageous decision”, “the Chinese don’t fold” and “get out Messi!”
» were among the most frequent reactions.
Lionel Messi and David Beckham, co-owner of Inter Miami, were booed in the Hong Kong stadium where the meeting was held.
On Friday, the company which organized the match, Tatler Asia, promised spectators a 50% refund.
“Injuries are part of the game and we understand that.
However, we were saddened by the fact that the players did not show sufficient respect towards the supporters present,” the company stressed.
- Financial interests -
The probable cancellation of the tour in China is a headache for the Argentine Football Federation (AFA), which considers the Asian giant a strategic market.
In June 2023, Argentina had already played a friendly match in Beijing during a visit that resulted in lucrative contracts with local companies.
The AFA has sponsorship and cooperation contracts with the coffee chain Cotti Coffee and the Chinese dairy leader Yili, among others.
“We are fully aware of the importance, uniqueness and enormous growth potential of AFA in the Chinese market,” Leandro Petersen, Sales and Marketing Director of AFA, said recently.
The Chinese newspaper Global Times, known for its nationalist positions, implied in an editorial this week that the behavior of Inter Miami and Messi may perhaps have been "politically motivated."
The Hong Kong authorities have been regularly in the crosshairs of the United States and the United Kingdom since the implementation in the semi-autonomous territory of a national security law which helped to muzzle political opposition.