No messing around this time

Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi played for 34 minutes yesterday in a friendly match between Inter Miami CF and Vissel Kobe in front of over 28,000 fans at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo - days after skipping an exhibition match in Hong Kong, citing injuries.

But Inter Miami lost 4-3 in penalty shootout after 90 scoreless minutes.

Messi came off the bench at the 60th minute and created several dangerous passes. He also recorded two shots, which came in the same attack.

One was parried by Kobe goalkeeper Shota Arai, and the followup was cleared off the line by Kobe left back Ryo Hatsuse.

While Messi started on the bench, his former Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba - Inter Miami's main players - were all in the starting lineup for the Florida-based team.

Suarez also sat out the SAR match.

The friendly was marred by a "disgusting" tackle midway through the first half by Kobe forward Yuya Osako on Busquets, who had to come off the pitch due to an injured left ankle.

After the match the Hong Kong government, in response to media inquiries, said Messi was active and showed no signs of an injury.

"There are a lot of questions left unanswered," a government spokesman added.

"We hope the organizer and Inter Miami can provide Hong Kong citizens with a reasonable explanation."

Inter Miami said yesterday they "felt sorry" that Messi and Suarez could not come onto the field in Sunday's exhibition match, while it also "understands the disappointment" of Hong Kong supporters and organizer Tatler Asia.

"But injuries are part of the wonderful game of football, and players' health should always be the top priority," Inter Miami said.

"We tried our best to let the two play in the match, and we tried all possibilities to keep our promises."

Messi had also posted on mainland social media platform Weibo yesterday, saying he was unable to play in Hong Kong due to a groin injury, with the area "swollen and painful."

He added: "I hope one day we'll have the opportunity to come back and fully exert ourselves in a match for the football fans in Hong Kong.

"I also look forward to visiting the mainland as soon as possible to share the joy of football with everyone."

The Consumer Council received 825 complaints as of 5pm yesterday, of which 147 were from tourists, involving around HK$5.59 million.

A fan surnamed Ngai, who was upset after witnessing the Messi no-show in Hong Kong, said he flew all the way to Tokyo to watch the match.

"It's really crazy to come to Japan just to watch football," he said, adding that his flight, hotel and match ticket cost HK$7,000 altogether. Ngai said he has been a Messi fan since the 2006 Germany World Cup, believing his skills and sportsmanship are always "No 1 in the world."

Hong Kong lawmakers continued to criticize Messi and Inter Miami, with the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong's Rock Chen Chung-nin saying their excuses for the no-show was like "treating Hongkongers as idiots."

Chen added: "He chose to remain silent in Hong Kong - didn't say a single word - then said many things once he arrived in Japan. Although he provided some explanation, I feel this attitude is already highly disrespectful, which I personally will not accept."

Election Committee sector lawmaker Jesse Shang Hailong said the government must continue to hold event organizer Tatler Asia accountable and should adopt stricter scrutiny for future applications for major brand activities.

"Even Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu showed strong support this time, so we must guard against risks," Shang said. "In addition to approving resources, the terms or negotiations involved must also be examined more deeply."

marcus.lum@singtaonewscorp.com