After Lionel Messi No Show in Hong Kong, China Cancel Friendlies With Argentina

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Both of Argentina's friendly matches scheduled to be part of a trip of mainland China next month have been cancelled by local football authorities due to the impact of Lionel Messi's refusal to play in a club exhibition match in Hong Kong.

Beijing does not currently have plans to host the match in which Lionel Messi was supposed to play, the Beijing Football Association announced on Saturday. The friendly between Argentina and Ivory Coast was supposed to take place in Beijing in March.

The announcement was made the day after the planned exhibition match between Nigeria and Argentina was cancelled by Chinese sports authorities. Argentina, the victors of the World Cup and led by Lionel Messi, announced last month that they will travel China from March 18-26, the international break. They had matches against Ivory Coast in Beijing and Nigeria in Hangzhou scheduled.

Lionel Messi, however, infuriated Hong Kong supporters last Sunday when he sat on the bench and didn't play against a local team while on tour with Inter Miami. Messi claimed to have hurt his groin. However, after playing against Vissel Kobe for thirty minutes on Wednesday in Tokyo, his justification was rejected in Hong Kong.