Messi denies political snub was behind Hong Kong no-show / Photo: Peter PARKS - AFP
-
Jadeja, Sundar help India bowl out New Zealand for 235 in third Test
-
Slot on Liverpool learning curve
-
Indonesia tribe's homeland at risk after losing final appeal: NGOs
-
'Brat' named word of the year by Collins dictionary
-
Harris, Trump converge on Milwaukee as US election looms
-
New Zealand 192-6 after Jadeja strikes for India in third Test
-
Taiwan races to remove oil from grounded Chinese ship
-
Bagnaia pips title rival Martin in Malaysian MotoGP practice
-
On Belgian coast, fishing on horseback -- and saving a tradition
-
French brushmakers stage 'comeback' with pivot to luxury market
-
'Recovery tool': theatre helps Ukrainian soldiers reintegrate
-
Indonesia adds Google Pixel phones to ban list with iPhone 16
-
US election race awaits employment data
-
German law easing legal gender change comes into force
-
Botswana leader concedes defeat after party drubbed in election
-
Napoli players in Conte's good books as they seek sixth win in a row
-
Fresh strikes hit south Beirut after Israeli evacuation calls
-
India's capital chokes in smog after firework ban flouted
-
Climate shifts and urbanisation drive Nepal dengue surge
-
Jets snap five-game skid with thrilling 21-13 win over Texans
-
'On top of the world': Japan hails Ohtani series triumph
-
Asian stocks mostly fall, tracking global slide
-
Title-chasing Bagnaia fastest in opening Malaysia MotoGP practice
-
TikTok bandits terrorise, transfix Pakistan riverlands
-
Morant fires Grizzlies in win over Bucks, Rockets hold off Mavs
-
'Waiting in vain': year on from pledge, world clings to fossil fuels
-
Shelf-sharing seeks to save bookstores in Japan
-
Filipinos brave crowds, flooding for All Saints' Day cemetery visits
-
Japan cyclists risk jail for using a mobile
-
Summit to save nature enters final day with disagreement on funding
-
Fright night: NY marks Halloween parade with political edge
-
North Korea says test-fire 'perfected' new solid-fuel ICBM
-
England and New Zealand in search of November flourish
-
Spotlight on half-backs as Springboks eye tour sweep
-
US rapper Young Thug freed after guilty plea in street gang case
-
Man Utd hope for Van Nistelrooy magic, Arsenal face Newcastle test
-
Taiwan cleans up after Typhoon Kong-rey leaves two dead
-
Lewis run blitz leads West Indies to big victory over England
-
Dead or alive? Scores missing after Sudan attacks
-
Lawn sign wars: US election drains neighborhood spirit
-
Some defiant south Lebanese stay put in face of Israeli fire
-
Deceptive 'bait-and-switch' Facebook groups snare US voters: study
-
In US swing state Pennsylvania, inflation means 'rent or eating'
-
Immigrant dreams boil over in US-Mexican film 'La Cocina'
-
In US, transgender candidates enter political lion's den
-
Boeing again raises offer to end strike, union to vote Monday
-
'Game of Thrones' movie in early development: reports
-
US rapper Young Thug pleads guilty in street gang case
-
Apple narrowly beats estimates with boost from iPhone sales
-
Bolivia's breadbasket squeezed by pro-Morales blockades
NYSE - LSE
| RYCEF | 1.15% | 6.94 | $ | |
| CMSC | -0.16% | 24.55 | $ | |
| RBGPF | 100% | 59.6 | $ | |
| SCS | -1.66% | 12.03 | $ | |
| NGG | -2.33% | 63.59 | $ | |
| RIO | -1.56% | 64.89 | $ | |
| BCC | -1.01% | 133.03 | $ | |
| BP | 1.16% | 29.36 | $ | |
| GSK | -0.68% | 36.76 | $ | |
| BTI | 1.77% | 34.98 | $ | |
| VOD | -1.29% | 9.27 | $ | |
| JRI | 0.23% | 13.08 | $ | |
| CMSD | -0.69% | 24.66 | $ | |
| RELX | -1.49% | 46.22 | $ | |
| BCE | 0.06% | 32.26 | $ | |
| AZN | -2.36% | 71.15 | $ |
Messi denies political snub was behind Hong Kong no-show
Lionel Messi denied his absence from a match in Hong Kong two weeks ago that angered China was a political snub, but was caused by an injury.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is idolised by fans in China but stayed on the bench during Inter Miami's 4-1 win in a pre-season tour match against a Hong Kong select XI on February 4.
A near 40,000 sellout crowd, who had paid upwards of 1,000 Hong Kong dollars ($125) to see the 36-year-old superstar in action, chanted "Refund!", gave thumbs-down signs and booed Messi and the team's co-owner David Beckham after the final whistle.
Some nationalist politicians interpreted Messi's absence as a snub to China after the Argentina great was fit enough to take the field for 30 minutes in a friendly a few days later in Japan.
In a video posted on China's Weibo social media platform late on Monday, the World Cup-winning captain rejected claims that his no-show was "for political reasons".
If that had been the case, he said, he "would not have travelled" to Hong Kong in the first place.
"As everyone knows, I always want to play and be in every game," he said.
Messi spoke in his video of a "very nice and very close" relationship with China, a country with which he said he had "done a lot of things".
His reason for not playing was due to injury, he said, specifically "inflammation of an adductor" muscle.
Fans on Weibo reacted quickly to the video, some in support of Messi.
"I believe the player I have always loved would never look at his fans with any kind of prejudice," wrote one user, adding, "he always values every fan."
"I still can't understand how such a supreme footballer, the greatest of all time, can be pilloried online to the extent that he is considered not to love China just for missing a friendly match," another fan wrote.
Not everyone was appeased.
"Turns out it's still hard to say sorry after all," read one Weibo comment.
"Give it a rest," said another. "Run off to Japan and drink sewage."
Messi starred last June when Argentina beat Australia in Beijing in a friendly, scoring in the opening minutes in front of an adoring crowd.
But next month's Argentina friendlies against Nigeria in Hangzhou and Africa champions Ivory Coast in Beijing were cancelled after Messi failed to play in Hong Kong.
F.Dubois--AMWN