China cancels second friendly with Argentina after Lionel Messi no-show
The Hindu
Argentina's friendly in China cancelled due to controversy over Lionel Messi's absence from a Hong Kong match.
Argentina's upcoming friendly in China has been canceled by local authorities, the second Argentine match in China to be called off this week amid controversy over star Lionel Messi's absence from a Hong Kong match last Sunday.
Beijing's football association announced Saturday it will not organize a friendly scheduled for March between Argentina and the Ivory Coast.
"Beijing does not plan, for the moment, to organise the match in which Lionel Messi was to participate," the Beijing Football Association said Saturday in a statement to local media.
The cancellation comes a day after a friendly between Argentina and Nigeria, also planned for March, was nixed by the Hangzhou Sports Bureau.
During a long 2024 preseason road trip with Inter Miami that included stops in El Salvador and Saudi Arabia, Messi missed last Sunday's match in Hong Kong because of an injury. The team faced an angry backlash from fans, some of whom demanded refunds for their tickets because the Argentinian did not play.
Making matters worse, the coach of Inter Miami, Gerardo Martino, had said his 36-year-old star "likely" would play in Hong Kong.
A large advertising campaign was built around the match, whose organizer is now said to be withdrawing $2 million in government grants for the event.
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