A 50% refund will be given to supporters who purchased tickets to see Lionel Messi in Hong Kong only for him to miss the friendly.
As long as they don’t file a lawsuit, fans who bought tickets to see Lionel Messi in Hong Kong but he decided not to play in the friendly will receive a 50% refund, the South China Morning Post reports.
On February 4, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner played against a Hong Kong select XI in an Inter Miami tour match that drew a sell-out crowd that paid from 880 Hong Kong dollars ($110).
Lionel Messi Remains Benched
However, the 36-year-old Argentine was forced to sit out the game due to an injury, which caused the crowd to jeer. This led to a backlash in China, where people perceived his absence as a political slight.
Tatler Asia, the event organizer, announced on Monday that “those who purchased tickets through official channels for the match” will receive a 50% refund.
The terms and conditions for those who wish to receive a portion of their money back include refraining from pursuing “proceedings before any court of law, tribunal (or) regulatory authority.”
The day after the match, Tatler, under fire for how it handled the mess, withdrew its proposal for a HK$16 million government funding to sponsor the event.
Following Hong Kong, Inter Miami traveled to Japan, where, much to the chagrin of Chinese supporters, Messi appeared in 30 minutes in a friendly match against Vissel Kobe in Tokyo.
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