Lionel Messi remained on the bench during the friendly match between Inter Miami and Hong Kong All-Stars (February 4), and China has now announced that it will no longer host two games of Argentina’s national team, writes AFP.

Lionel Messi, the only substitute in the match against Hong Kong Stars

The star named the injury as the reason. Spectators, who had paid up to HK$4,800 (€570), expressed their displeasure at the player’s absence, but especially at his attitude, as he did not address the audience to apologise.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham were booed at the Hong Kong stadium where the match was held.

On Friday, the company that organized the match, Tatler Asia, promised a 50% refund to spectators: “Accidents are part of the game and we understand that. However, we were saddened by the fact that the players did not show enough respect to the fans present.”

The row flared up again on Wednesday when Messi played 30 minutes of a friendly in Japan, where several photos showed him smiling, while in Hong Kong he looked very serious.

“Many soccer fans and friends on the Internet have recently asked us for information about Lionel Messi’s match in Beijing. After verification (by our services), Beijing currently has no intention of organizing the match in which Messi was supposed to participate,” the Beijing Football Federation, the body that oversees soccer in the Chinese capital, said on Saturday, according to News.ro.

Argentina will no longer play matches against Nigeria and Ivory Coast in China

Argentina have announced a tour to the Asian nation from March 18 to 26, which will see them play against Nigeria in the eastern city of Hangzhou and Ivory Coast in Beijing.

But the controversy surrounding the world champion, who until recently was very popular in China, has gained momentum in recent days.

Argentina’s scheduled match in Hangzhou was already canceled on Friday evening. According to the Hangzhou Sports Bureau, “for reasons known to all, in the opinion of the competent authorities, the conditions for holding the event were not met.” On the social network Weibo, the vast majority of netizens supported the decision of the Chinese sports authorities.

“If he doesn’t respect his Chinese fans, we can’t let him take even a penny from the pockets of the Chinese people,” one user responded, echoing other posts. “We gave him our love, and he treats us like that. This slap (cancellation) is deserved,” wrote another.

Among the most frequent reactions are “Brave decision”, “The Chinese do not sleep” and “Messi away”.

The possible cancellation of the tournament in China is a concern for Argentina’s Football Federation (AFA), which sees the Asian giant as a strategic market.

In June 2023, Argentina already played a friendly match in Beijing during a visit that resulted in lucrative contracts with local companies. AFA has sponsorship and collaboration agreements with the Cotti coffee chain 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, AFA’s director of sales and marketing, said recently.

Chinese daily Global Times, known for its nationalistic stance, suggested in an editorial this week that the attitude of Inter Miami and Messi could be “politically motivated”.

Hong Kong authorities have been regularly criticized by the United States and Britain after the semi-autonomous territory introduced a national security law that helped silence political opposition.