◀ Anchor ▶
Controversy continues to mount over soccer star Lionel Messi’s absence from the Hong Kong friendly due to injury.
This is because he took part in a friendly match in Japan three days later.
As claims were made that China was being ignored, the Chinese authorities canceled all of Argentina’s national team friendlies in China.
Reporter Lee Hae-in reports from Beijing.
◀ Report ▶
“Messi! Messi!”
A friendly match between Argentina and Australia held in Beijing in June last year.
Although the most expensive ticket costing over 800,000 won, around 50,000 fans visited the stadium.
Messi’s popularity in China was so great that thousands of fans flocked to the airport and his hotel.
[메시 팬 (지난해 6월)]
“Messi is not only my idol but also my faith in life.”
But after half a year, things changed.
They kicked the deck of Messi’s mouth and broke it, cut his outfit with scissors and burned it, or tore it with their hands and threw it on the floor.
He was angry when he did not play in the match against the Hong Kong professional football team on the 4th due to injury.
[메시 팬 (지난 4일)]
“Aren’t you sorry for the football fans? Aren’t you sorry for us?”
In particular, the controversy grew further when Messi played for 30 minutes in a friendly match held in Japan three days later on the 7th.
As allegations surface that Messi has suffered discrimination in China, this situation is turning into a problem between countries beyond sports.
Argentina’s national team was due to play friendly matches against Nigeria and Ivory Coast’s national team in China next month, but Chinese authorities canceled all matches due to the incident.
There are also reports from local Chinese media that the Chinese Football Association has removed all news related to Messi from its official website and has also suspended cooperation with the Argentine Football Association.
Global Times, a Chinese state media outlet, even claims that Messi’s absence is a “political intention by foreign powers to cause trouble for Hong Kong”.
In response to continued criticism, the match organizer announced that he would refund half the ticket price.
This is Lee Hae-in from MBC News in Beijing.
Video Editing: Jo Min-woo
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