04 February 2024 , 14:48
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Lionel Messi and David Beckham were booed by fans watching Inter Miami's pre-season match against the Hong Kong All Stars on Sunday, with the Hong Kong government issuing a scathing statement afterwards.
Messi's involvement in Miami's pre-season plans has been limited, with the World Cup-winning captain currently nursing a strain in his hamstring. And as a precaution, the Argentine was an un-used substitute in the 4-1 victory in Hong Kong.
For the thousands packed into the stadium though, they were less impressed, after not being able to catch a glimpse of the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner out on the pitch.
The 38,000-sell out crowd grew frustrated in the second half at the lack of Messi action, as chants of 'we want Messi' grew around the stadium. But, as it came more apparent that the former Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona star would be staying on the bench, the noise soon turned to boos.
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Franchise owner Beckham also faced the frustrations of the crowd following Messi's omission too. Following full-time the former England captain took to the pitch to issue a thank you speech to those watching on, but this was also drowned out by boos.
Messi's former Barcelona strike partner Luis Suarez was also left on the bench too, another disappointment to fans who were charged £125 per ticket. The Hong Kong government issued a statement to confirm it was investigating taking action against the MLS franchise over the decision to rest Messi and Suarez, claiming it could withdraw sponsorship money
The statement read: "The event has been awarded "M" Mark status, as well as a matching grant of 15 million and a grant for venue of 1 million by The Major Sports Events Committee (MSEC). Regarding Messi not playing the match today, the Government, as well as all football fans, are extremely disappointed about the organiser's arrangement. The organiser owes all football fans an explanation.
"The MSEC will take follow-up actions with the organiser according to the terms and conditions, which includes reducing the amount of funding as a result of Messi not playing the match."
David Beckham's post-match speech was not well received (AFP via Getty Images)Following full-time Inter head coach Gerardo Martino, explained the reasoning behind leaving his star pair on the bench. "We understand the disappointment of the fans for the absence of Leo (Messi) and Luis Suarez," he told reporters.
"We understand a lot of fans are very disappointed and we ask for their forgiveness. We wish we could have sent Leo and Luis on for at least a while but the risk was too big."
It was the second-straight friendly Messi started on the bench, after he was left out of the starting XI for Thursday's 6-0 defeat against Al-Nassr. The clash was a highly anticipated one, with Messi set to face off with his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo in what was dubbed, 'The Last Dance'.
Ronaldo however was forced to pull out in the days leading up to the match due to an ongoing injury issue. Messi's involvement was also limited too, as came on as a second-half substitute with seven minutes to play amid his hamstring problem.