The fight with Messi continues in Hong Kong: the organization of the friendly match will return part of the value of the tickets

The organizer of the friendly match between a team of Hong Kong and the InterMiami announced today that it will return half of the ticket money after the absence of Lionel Messiwho missed the match due to discomfort.

Tatler Asiathe company organizing the duel assured today in a statement that it will refund 50% of the ticket price after the criticism received for the Argentine’s absence.

The exhibition match between the Hong Kong team and Inter Miami on Sunday was supposed to be a spectacle, but it turned into a story disenchantment and general angersince the Argentine football legend didn’t even put on his boots and watched the match from the side, due to some discomfort.

The organiser, who will provide details on refunds next month, has also waived a subsidy requested from local authorities.

For its part, the Hong Kong government today applauded the decision and commented that the compensation “is a responsible approach that demonstrates the proactive and responsible attitude” of Tatler.

In recent days the authorities had held continuous talks with the event’s organization to seek “a workable solution” after the criticism received.

The Hong Kong Consumer Council said it had received 547 complaints on Wednesday involving a total amount of HK$3.64 million (about $460,000).

The Government understands that Hongkongers are disappointed, especially because Messi was unable to play in the former British colony due to some inconvenience. but played in Japan three days later.

Chinese fans and media have also attacked the Argentine star in recent days for his alleged attitude. “deadpan” and “expressive” during his stay in Hong Kong while in Japan, where he played half an hour of the match on Wednesday, he “seemed like a different person” and was “waving at everyone,” according to the Global Times newspaper.

Messi apologized to his Chinese fans

Messi’s club, Inter Miami, for its part made it clear that it was simply “too risky” for Messi to play.

When tickets went on sale last December, fans rushed to shell out exorbitant sums, paying between 880 and 4,880 Hong Kong dollars (between 100 and 550 US dollars) to secure one of the 40,000 tickets available for the match, which was held on Sunday. .