Chinese sports officials have opted to cancel the upcoming friendly football match between Argentina and Nigeria. This decision follows significant backlash after Lionel Messi's absence during an Inter Miami game in Hong Kong. Originally scheduled to play in Hangzhou, with a subsequent match against Ivory Coast in Beijing, the fallout from Messi's non-participation in the Hong Kong event has led to the cancellation of the first fixture.
World Cup champion Argentina, captained by Messi, had scheduled a tour of China from March 18-26, featuring matches against Nigeria in Hangzhou and Ivory Coast in Beijing. The tour faced controversy as Messi, citing a groin injury, did not play in a local selection match in Hong Kong last Sunday, sparking disappointment among fans. The situation escalated when Messi, initially expected to play, remained on the bench in Hong Kong, leading to public outrage. The controversy deepened when Messi later played for 30 minutes in a match for Inter Miami against Vissel Kobe in Tokyo. This sequence of events resulted in increased tensions, with organisers having to offer a 50% refund to dissatisfied ticket holders.
Consequently, Hangzhou's sports authorities declared that the friendly match with Nigeria would not proceed as planned due to immature conditions. The statement emphasised the commercial nature of the event and referenced ongoing discussions between a company and the Argentinean soccer team.
"As a commercial event, a company and the Argentinean soccer team negotiated that the team would play a friendly match in March this year in the city of Hangzhou. In view of the current well-known reasons, according to the competent authorities, conditions to hold the friendly match are not mature, therefore (we) have decided to cancel it," the Hangzhou authorities said in a statement.
Fate Of Ivory Coast Match Uncertain
The status of the subsequent match against Ivory Coast in Beijing remains unconfirmed. Tatler Asia, involved in organising the Hong Kong match, expressed regret on Instagram, apologising to fans for Messi's absence during the game. The company conveyed its disappointment over unmet expectations, particularly regarding Messi's failure to engage with spectators and provide an explanation for his non-participation, despite later playing in Japan on Feb. 7.
When we learned that Messi would not be playing, we pleaded with Inter Miami CF ownership and management to urge him to stand up, engage with the spectators and explain why he couldn't play. He didn't. The fact that Messi and (teammate Luis) Suarez played in Japan on Feb. 7 feels like another slap in the face,” stated Tatler.