Huo Qigang posted another long post about Messi's absence: Miami International owes Hong Kong fans an explanation and apology
On February 4, Miami International and the Hong Kong Stars team played an exhibition match at the Hong Kong Stadium, and Messi did not play because of his injury, which caused dissatisfaction among the fans at the scene. The Hong Kong SAR government, which provided HK$16 million in sponsorship to the organisers, expressed its disappointment and said it would deduct the sponsorship payment. At a press conference on February 5, the organizers also announced the withdrawal of the government subsidy application.
On February 5, Huo Qigang also issued a statement, expressing great disappointment with the organizers' arrangements. Fok Qigang said that in the past period, the organizers have been using the "football king" Messi as a solicitation, and the overwhelming publicity has attracted the eager expectations of the public and fans, and the tickets have been sold out in an instant - the organizers and Miami International need to apologize and explain to the people of Hong Kong.
On February 6, Huo Qigang posted a long post to talk about this matter.
Huo Qigang's full text is as follows:
七、八十年代有一位美国NBA篮球Hall Of Fame（即名人堂）得主Julius W. Erving（朱利叶斯-欧文）曾经讲过一句名言：“I firmly believe that respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity”，大概的意思是他坚信，尊重远比受欢迎更为重要，也更为强大。 这两天我一直在留意“国际迈亚密CF”（即迈阿密国际）球队访港动态，关注球队、球员一举一动，以及香港球迷的反应，Julius W. Erving这句名言不断浮现在我脑海中。
There are some things that I don't know whether to say or not, but I still want to say them.
After the news of the Miami international team's visit to Hong Kong was announced, the whole Hong Kong was shocked. Although this team cannot be compared with many established clubs, the focus is undoubtedly on the class owner "heartthrob" Beckham and "football king" Messi. Tickets were sold out as soon as they went on sale, and everyone chatted after tea and dinner to inevitably mention the topic of the "football king" visiting Hong Kong. This phenomenon reminds me of the scene in 2003, when Hong Kong invited "Real Madrid" to visit Hong Kong. At that time, "Real Madrid" was in its most glorious period, with six heavenly kings, including Beckham, and his visit to Hong Kong caused a sensation in Hong Kong. I still remember the good atmosphere, the crowd of fans welcoming the idols, the friendly players and the laughter and laughter throughout. I was also fortunate to be there to watch the game at the time, and if I remember correctly, every superstar of the "Six Heavenly Kings" played on the field, and the fans had the opportunity to see the style. I'm sure the players can feel their popularity and the fans feel the respect they have.
Twenty years later, the "King of the Ball" Messi visited Hong Kong, and I also hoped to have the feeling of the past, hoping that the original intention of the "Happy Hong Kong" event could really be realized, but the ending of the story was not satisfactory.
In order to receive the "King of the Ball", the Hong Kong Airport Authority made special arrangements to hold a welcome ceremony on the tarmac. The high-standard treatment is to hope that the team can feel the enthusiasm of the city of Hong Kong and the respect of the citizens for the arrival of foreign guests. However, before the ceremony was over, the players left the field, indifferent to the call of the master of ceremonies, and hurriedly boarded the bus without knowing whether the players could not understand or could not hear. The scene was in an uproar, and I felt very disappointed watching the live broadcast, and I was also embarrassed by the guests and emcee on the scene. It's a shame that the elaborate arrangements we prepared for the arrival of the team were trampled on.
On the day of the game, the results are known to everyone, so I won't repeat them here. I myself have been involved in sports for many years, and I have also been the head of large and small delegations, and I have had to make some difficult decisions. I understand that as managers or responsible persons, the health and protection of athletes is always our top priority, but how to respond to and manage crises is also an important part. I don't know Messi's physical condition, and I don't have the professional qualifications to comment on whether he should play, but if I were Messi, I know that the 40,000 fans at the scene are here for me, and this is not an official match of international specifications, just an exhibition match, I will choose to take the initiative to show up, and even exchange hands with the audience, and give autographed jerseys to thank the fans for their support. I don't know if this is too difficult for the "king of the ball", or because he is too popular, too popular, and has become numb to cheering? Messi's past achievements in the football world are undoubted and deserve our respect, but I believe that Hong Kong fans did not feel respected in the way this game was handled.
I am also thinking about whether it is fair for us to blame Messi only if the organizer Tatler Asia invited the Miami International team? What about the team, the coach, and the class owner? Of course, when it comes to the class owner, we cannot fail to mention the "heartthrob" Beckham. I met Beckham 20 years ago and I had the impression that he was a very friendly player, and 20 years later he became the head of the team. One of the conditions on which David Beckham joined LA Galaxy, an MLS team in the US soccer league in 2007, was that he could form a new team to join the MLS at a below-market price in the future. To put it simply, you buy an option on futures. He knew that his popularity was enough to increase the visibility and market value of MLS, which led to the formation of Inter Miami in 2018. Beckham's skills and business acumen are admirable, and that deserves our respect. Compared with other century-old European teams, Miami International is rumored to have offered $10 million for an exhibition game in just five or six years, but Beckham should know that the $10 million appearance fee is actually because of the popularity of Messi and Beckham himself, and if there is no blessing from the "football king", it is not worth the price at all, so it makes no sense to say that it has nothing to do with Messi.
苏格兰球员 John Stein曾经说过：“Football is for the fans. It can be the greatest game in the world but if there are no people to watch it, it becomes nothing. The fans are the livelihood of the game”简单而言，球迷是足球的一切。 20年前看的是贝克汉姆，今天大家追捧的是梅西，但这都只是来源于对足球的热爱。 Stars come and go, football stays forever.
Inter Miami as a team should cherish every opportunity to play, make the best impression on the fans every time, and respect everyone who comes in to support them every time. Fans are not only looking for stars who join at sky-high prices, but also for the team's love and devotion to football and their contributions to football. Inter Miami is still a long way from being a "century-old store", and I hope it will not forget its original intention of participating in football, not just to make money. On this incident, I have been consistent – Inter Miami owes Hong Kong fans an explanation and an apology.
For the media brand Tatler, everyone may not know much about it before, but I believe that now the citizens and friends know it. Of course, I strongly support Hong Kong's promotion of the economy through mega events, and at the same time, I believe that "people with hearts" from all walks of life should be welcome to "make a big pie" together, but it must be emphasized here that they are "people with hearts". There are generations of seniors in the sports industry in Hong Kong, who have built Hong Kong sports step by step, some of them are enthusiastic, some are original intentions, and they just hope that the development of Hong Kong sports will get better and better. Today, when we talk about the sports industry to support the economy, making money is certainly an important part of it, and I don't think that the organizers should not make money, but we can't forget the original intention of holding sports events. This time the tickets are expensive, but the fans still spend their hard-earned money to buy tickets in order to see the style of their idols. It is understood that Tatler has also found no less than six corporate sponsors, and it is estimated that the sponsorship cost is expensive, and it is rumored that Tatler will sell the opportunity to take photos with international Miami players at a package price of 150,000 yuan. If I were Messi and I might have emotions knowing that the organisers invited me to take pictures with guests and then charged a premium price. Of course, I don't know the profit and cost of this event Tatler, but all kinds of actions are enough to make people feel "earning as much as possible", not for football, not for fans, only for marketing, which is really not good, and all arrangements also make fans and viewers "the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment".
Every sports event organized by the host organization should hope to be "long-lasting", and every sports event must accumulate experience in order to do better and better and truly give back to sports fans. The world-famous Hong Kong Sevens has been accumulated step by step since 1976. If Tatler really wants to get involved in the sports industry for the long term, we should encourage it, but Tatler should also think about a long-term strategy, never be short-sighted, and not disrespect supporters.
I 100% agree with the government not to use the 16 million sponsorship funds to support this event, which is fundamental. Although the activity itself does not involve public funds, it does not mean that there is no need to account to the public and be responsible to the society. In fact, in addition to the original cash subsidy, the Government has also invested in other aspects such as traffic arrangements and police force arrangements to support the holding of this event. After reading Tatler's statement on the day of the event and the press conference the next day, it was really hard to accept. In addition, I also learned that the support for the volunteers was not enough for this event, and it is understood that the organizers did not even express their gratitude at the end. Volunteers are the key to the success of every sporting event, and after each Olympic Games, the President will give a special thank you for their dedication, which is a basic respect for the selfless dedication of others.
At this point, I have not changed my position on Tatler, and I hope that your group can consider a suitable solution to give a reasonable explanation to fans, tourists and Hong Kong citizens, and show due respect.
Going back to the introduction at the beginning of the article, in today's Internet age, popularity can come quickly and easily, but if there is no respect behind it, this popularity may come and dissipate quickly. Regardless of the reasons behind this incident, I hope that all parties, including the government and the sports sector, will bear in mind this incident and its lessons, and continue to hold the event better and better in the future with the spirit of sportsmanship to give back to the society.
On the day of the game, I happened to be in Italy for a cultural tour and was unable to attend the game in Hong Kong. However, during the visit, I was invited by the CEO of Inter Milan to watch the game, and I also kindly invited their team to consider visiting Hong Kong for exchanges, hoping that fans will have the opportunity to enjoy the style of the "Inter Milan" team in the future.
[Source: Jiupai News Comprehensive Social Accounts of Relevant Parties]