Lionel Messi is still trying to explain his absence from a soccer match in Hong Kong, as he published a video on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Monday, following a texted statement made almost two weeks ago. There is.
On February 4, Messi’s absence from the match between Inter Miami and Hong Kong Eleven caused a huge backlash. In response to the incident, Chinese authorities subsequently canceled two soccer matches involving Argentina’s national team.
Anger escalated a few days later when Messi came on as a substitute in the 60th minute in a match against Vissel Kobe in Tokyo.
Many on Weibo questioned how the star athlete was able to recover so quickly, three days after the match in Hong Kong. His tongue-in-cheek hashtag “Medical Miracle” ranked high with over 1.3 million views.
Some people slammed the move, seeing it as disrespectful to Hong Kong and China.
Several Chinese state media outlets criticized Messi’s absence and blamed the match organizers’ poor organization.
In a video on Monday, Messi denied that his absence was for political reasons and reiterated that he was unable to play due to inflammation in his adductor muscle, which worsened the day before the match in Hong Kong.
Messi’s video post topped Weibo’s search rankings on Monday night. It received over 20,000 comments and over 200,000 likes in about an hour.
In the comments section, the majority expressed strong love and positivity towards the reactions to his video. However, many cynical comments still question his intention not to lose the Chinese market.
“I have a very close and special relationship with China and have done a lot in China,” Messi said in the video. He sent a message of encouragement to the Chinese people and said he hopes to see China again.
Messi’s initial comments about missing the match against Hong Kong were received negatively by many on Weibo, with one user criticizing him as “completely disingenuous.”
The statement’s IP address showed it was posted in China’s Sichuan province, about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers) from Tokyo, prompting an outcry of ridicule online. Major social media platforms in China require users to provide the location of their IP address.
The uproar over Messi is the latest example of how quickly backlash against brands and celebrities can snowball in China’s highly nationalistic social media landscape and, in some cases, into the country’s main consumer market. may have a significant impact on business.
China’s so-called “wolf warrior” diplomats and other government agencies have also issued harsh public statements in such cases.
The incident also comes as Beijing tightens control over Hong Kong and its government following massive 2019 pro-democracy protests, even as Hong Kong faces increasing influence from mainland China, an international hub. It happened even while I was trying to improve my image as a.
Amid growing public and official anger over Messi’s absence, Hong Kong match organizer Tatler You’re going to have to pay close to that. At a loss.
CNN’s Simone McCarthy and Chris Lau contributed to this report.
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