Legend soccer player Lionel Messi says it was \u201cbad luck\u201d that he could not play
\nIslamabad
\nThe sports bosses in China have cancelled two friendly matches featuring Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi as the soccer star failed to make an appearance for his club Inter Miami in a Hong Kong exhibition match recently.
\nArgentina had scheduled a tour of China from March 18 to 26, during which it was set to clash with Nigeria in Hangzhou and Ivory Coast in Beijing.
\nBut last week a high-profile friendly between Inter Miami and a select XI in Hong Kong led to criticism and calls for refunds, after Messi did not take to the field, citing injury.
\nSome nationalist politicians and outlets have interpreted the no-show in the 4-1 Inter Miami win \u2014 and Messi\u2019s subsequent appearance at a similar match in Japan \u2014 as a snub to China, without offering evidence.
\n\u201cBeijing does not plan, for the moment, to organise the match in which Lionel Messi was to participate,\u201d the Beijing Football Association, which oversees football in the capital, said in a press release Saturday.
\nThe Hangzhou match had already been cancelled on Friday evening.
\n\u201cGiven the reasons that everyone knows, according to the competent authorities, the conditions for the event to take place are not met,\u201d said the Hangzhou Sports Bureau.
\nWidely considered the best player of his generation, Messi is a highly marketable sportsman who people around the world will pay top dollar to see, even in the twilight of his trophy-laden career.
\nSpectators who had paid upwards of 1,000 Hong Kong dollars ($125) to see the 36-year-old in the southern Chinese city chanted \u201cRefund!\u201d when he sat out the match, gave thumbs-down signs and drowned out the team\u2019s co-owner David Beckham with jeers as he tried to thank the crowd.
\nThe Hong Kong government demanded an explanation from the match\u2019s organisers, Tatler Asia.
\nTatler has since promised spectators a 50% refund.
\nJust days after the no-show, however, the eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner played 30 minutes of a friendly match in Japan \u2014 causing outrage and accusations that he had singled out China.
\nMessi has said it was \u201cbad luck\u201d that he could not play and that he hoped to return to the city.
\nThe cancellation of the matches in China is a headache for the Argentine Football Federation, which considers the Asian giant a strategic market.
\nIn June 2023, Argentina played a friendly in Beijing during a visit that resulted in lucrative contracts with local companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Legend soccer player Lionel Messi says it was \u201cbad luck\u201d that he could not play Islamabad The sports bosses in China have cancelled two friendly matches featuring Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi as the soccer star failed to make an appearance for his club Inter Miami in a Hong Kong exhibition match recently. Argentina had scheduled a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386823,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-386811","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n