Somali Magazine – Lionel Messi, the top player for Inter Miami, was injured on Sunday and was unable to participate, which infuriated football fans.
The media was informed by Hong Kong’s minister of sports on Monday that Tatler Asia, the event organisers, had earlier “reaffirmed that Messi was going to play in the second half.”
“When the second half began without Messi, we immediately followed up with the organiser Tatler Asia, requesting them to liaise with Inter Miami to arrange Messi to play as soon as possible, but was later informed by Tatler Asia that Messi could not play due to injury,” stated Kevin Yeung.
Because Argentina’s FIFA World Cup-winning striker was not there, the stadium’s patrons were upset and dissatisfied. Apart from Messi, Luis Suarez, a Uruguayan forward for Inter Miami, did not participate in the match versus Hong Kong XI.
At Hong Kong Stadium, Inter Miami prevailed 4-1 in the amicable match. When Messi was not on the pitch, Inter Miami was jeered by enraged fans.
Yeung said that the organising company acknowledged that Messi, 36, was unable to play despite the government of Hong Kong’s desire for him to play for ten minutes before the game concluded.
Regarding Messi’s decision to not play in today’s match, the government is deeply dissatisfied in the arrangement made by the organisers, as are all football fans. The organiser ought to provide an explanation to every football fan,” the Hong Kong government declared in a statement on Sunday.
Messi appeared in a few minutes of Inter Miami’s most recent game against Al-Nassr when the squad was in Saudi Arabia for their preseason trip.
On February 1, Al-Nassr, devoid of Cristiano Ronaldo, crushed Messi’s Inter Miami 6-0 in a friendly match for the Riyadh Season Cup.
In a post-match press conference, Inter Miami head coach Gerardo Martino stated that Messi and Suarez were left off the pitch because “a decision was taken together with the medical team.”
It is said that Messi is suffering from a hamstring issue.
We were taking a chance on making their injuries worse. And for that reason they were unable to participate in the game,” Martino stated, extending their apologies to the Hong Kong supporters.
For their next match on their overseas tour, Inter Miami will head to Japan. They will play Vissel Kobe in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Major League Soccer (MLS) in the US and Canada, where Inter Miami will play, is set to begin on February 21.