Lionel Messi of Inter Miami arrives at Hong Kong International airport with US Inter Miami CF team on Feb 2, 2024. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)

Soccer star Lionel Messi’s decision to sit out a high-profile match staged in Hong Kong on Sunday disappointed his fans, some of whom had flown thousands of miles just for his performance, with one having spent as much as HK$24,000 ($3,068) for his trip to Hong Kong. 

Messi blamed “myalgia” for his no-show but he played in another match in Japan for 30 minutes just three days later. While Messi’s excuse for his no-show in Hong Kong and his integrity have been questioned by many, the organizer of the Hong Kong event, luxury lifestyle brand Tatler Asia, has been fiercely condemned, and rightfully so.

READ MORE: Messi no-show fiasco: HK govt requires concrete back-up plan

Tatler Asia had promoted Messi prominently in its advertising campaign for the high-profile match to attract fans, locally and globally. To the great disappointment of the thousands of soccer fans who invested a large amount of time and money, the superstar not only sat out the game but also had little contact with spectators. So outraged were some fans that they slammed this no-show saga as a “scam”. 

Messi’s alleged “myalgia” remains to be verified. To address fans’ grievances and prevent similar incidents from happening again, the authorities concerned should launch an immediate investigation to find out how this unhappy state of affairs came about, as well as to determine how the spectators who bought tickets, came to the city, or made other arrangements for the match should be fairly compensated. 

Messi was contracted to play for at least 45 minutes. For this reason, the game was designated a “major event” and the organizer was entitled to HK$15 million as a matching grant and a HK$1 million venue grant. It was reported that the agreement between the match organizer and Inter Miami, Messi’s visiting team, contained an exemption clause covering scenarios that allow a player not to participate in the game. It is believed that this exemption clause allowed Messi to sit out the game. There is a need for an investigation to determine whether this exemption clause has been abused, and whether Messi’s exemption conforms to the relevant provisions of the Control of Exemption Clauses Ordinance. Whatever the result of the investigation, the organizer of the event is obligated, at least morally if not legally, to compensate the spectators who bought tickets or spent money in other ways for the match. The organizer has said that it will no longer accept the HK$16 million in government grants for the event. But Tatler Asia’s obligation does not stop there, as evidenced in another case involving the postponement of two exhibition matches in Shenzhen last month. On Jan 23, Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr called off both its scheduled matches in Shenzhen, the first of which was only 24 hours away, citing “health reasons” involving its star player Cristiano Ronaldo. The organizers announced the postponements of the two matches and a full refund for spectators, including the cost of air tickets and hotels booked for the events. 

So what should have been two great sporting events in Shenzhen and Hong Kong went down the drain — for the same “health” reason — just a couple of weeks apart. It is hoped that no ill-motivated manipulation, as some have suggested, was behind Messi’s no-show. It would be a sad thing if politics has intruded upon sports. 

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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is planning more than 80 major events for the city in the first half of this year to energize the local economy. An interdepartmental coordination team is being set up to increase efforts to promote major events and assist organizations interested in staging international events in Hong Kong. 

To prevent future international events from being botched, the authorities must strengthen their supervisory and coordinating efforts, particularly in ensuring that only reliable partners or sponsors are involved in the organization of major events in the city, and have the relevant contracts reviewed by legal experts or industry elites, so as to avoid the recurrence of unhappy events such as Messi’s no-show. A comprehensive investigation into the Messi incident and introduction of appropriate countermeasures, including penalties, would also help. 

The author is a current affairs commentator. 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.