Hong Kong’s Sports Minister, Kevin Yeung said on Monday that Lionel Messi was contracted to play at least 45 minutes of a pre-season friendly that ended with his Inter Miami team being booed off.
Ten of thousands of fans expected to see the World Cup-winning captain take part in Sunday’s pre-season match against a Hong Kong XI after he was named among the Miami substitutes.
They chanted “Refund!”, gave thumbs-down signs and drowned out Miami co-owner David Beckham with booing as he tried to thank the crowd after the final whistle.
Yeung told a news conference that government officials at the game were repeatedly assured Messi would play, revealing that 10 minutes from the end, they were informed that his injury inflammation of an abductor muscle would keep him out.
He said; “We immediately requested them to explore other remedies, such as Messi appearing on the field to interact with his fans and receiving the trophy.”
“Unfortunately, as you all see, this did not work out.”
Yeung warned that up to 16 million Hong Kong dollars of public money could be withheld from the organisers.
“One of the key terms of our funding agreement with (organisers) Tatler Asia was for Messi to participate in the match for at least 45 minutes, subject to fitness and safety considerations,” he said.
