Hangzhou Sports Committee announced that the friendly match between Argentina and Nigeria to be played in China has been cancelled.
“For obvious reasons, the competent authorities have concluded that there are no requirements for a match to be held with the participation of the Argentinian team. In the official statement, it was stated that it was decided to cancel this event.
By “known reasons” the organizers were referring to a conflict situation involving Argentinian Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi in Hong Kong. There, the 36-year-old striker did not participate in the match due to injury, but his appearance in Japan a few days later caused outrage among fans.
The Argentina-Nigeria match was supposed to be played in the second half of March. The South Americans also planned to meet with the Ivory Coast team during the China tour. There is no information about this game yet.
On February 4, Hong Kong’s star team lost a friendly match against Inter Miami with a score of 1:4. Since Lionel Messi, the star of the American team, remained on the bench, the spectators shouted their demands from the stands during the match and asked for the refund of their tickets. Inter Miami owner David Beckham was also booed after the match.
Messi before explained himself Due to his absence from the field in Hong Kong.