Credit: X
Chinese sports authorities cancelled the friendly between Argentina and Nigeria, scheduled to be hosted next month. The decision came after the backlash received following Lionel Messi's absence from Inter Miami’s friendly against Hong Kong XI that took place on February 4.
During the match, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were left on the bench, and it was cited that Messi suffered a knee injury before the game. Fans who showed up just to get a glimpse of the record eight-time Ballon d'Or winner were left disappointed and slammed the organisers, demanding refunds.
Things further heated when the Argentine international showed up in the game against Vissel Kobe in Japan a few days later. It caused a mass backlash among the Hong Kong fans, and the government demanded clarification from the Inter Miami team. After the recent incident, the Chinese authorities felt disrespected and they decided to scrap the friendly between Argentina and Nigeria that was scheduled to be hosted in Hangzhou, the Republic of China.
Argentina's friendly against Ivory Coast uncertain
The Chinese authorities announced cancelling the friendly between Argentina and Nigeria due to immature conditions. The statement highlighted the ongoing discussions between a commercial company and the Argentine football team. The statement read, "As a commercial event, a company, and the Argentinean soccer team negotiated that the team would play a friendly match in March this year in the city of Hangzhou. In view of the current well-known reasons, according to the competent authorities, conditions to hold the friendly match are not mature, therefore (we) have decided to cancel it.”
The 2022 World Cup winners are scheduled to play a match against Ivory Coast after their game against Nigeria. However, with the game being cancelled, uncertainty looms over the game. However, it is yet to be announced whether the next game will be hosted as decided.
