Irish media: Messi's absence is unfriendly! Chinese fans, history and culture should be respected
The Irish Times, Ireland's most widely circulated mainstream newspaper, was founded on March 29, 1859, and recently commented on Messi's absence from the game in China.
Messi missed the friendly match between Inter Miami and Hong Kong, which cost the organizer and organizer Tatler XFEST a lot of money. Spectators who purchased tickets to the match were very annoyed, and the spectators ended up getting a 50% refund, which XFEST claimed would expose them to more than $5 million in losses.
Our desire is to create an iconic moment that reminds the world of how exciting Hong Kong is, a dream shattered for all those who bought tickets to see Messi play, they wrote in the statement. How angry are the fans in Hong Kong, China, at all this? Messi's absence is a blatant humiliation of the city, a mysterious and huge mastermind behind the scenes, who orchestrated all this, made the fans here look like fools, and let forces with ulterior motives take the opportunity to sing us down. You thought it was just a pre-season friendly?
Last week, Enrique Cerezo, president of Atletico Madrid, referred to Athletic Club as "Bilbao", leaving people who don't know the history of Spanish football a little confused. However, this debate has been going on for more than 50 years.
Athletic Bilbao was founded in 1898 by British migrant workers, hence the team's name being anglicized. But in 1940, Franco ordered all institutions to "Spanishize" the name, so the Atlético was forced to change its name to Atlético Bilbao. It wasn't until 1972 that they were able to revert to their original name.
Some fans explained: Calling Bilbao is disrespectful to them, and it will be reminiscent of Franco's disrespect for Basque culture. Club chairman Jon Uriarte was unimpressed. "There are a lot of people who call us Athletic Bilbao, even some of our own supporters, and that doesn't make me feel uncomfortable," he said.
Cerezo insisted that he had no "ill will" and did not know about it. He was told that he did not know the history of the Bilbao club. Created by members of Madrid's Basque community, Atlético de Madrid is actually a sister club to Athletic Club Bilbao. They were also forced to change their name, from Athletic Club to Atlético de Madrid, but after Franco, they chose the latter's name.
Luis de la Fuente, a former Athletic Bilbao player and Spanish manager, gave his opinion on this: Athletic is an athletic team, it is not difficult to call it by its name, the history lesson is over, and it is time for the dust to settle. The Irish Times used Athletic Bilbao as an example to tell Messi: Fans everywhere in the world must be respected, as well as the culture and history there!
So, after the news is revealed, fans and friends, what are the waves in your hearts? If you like this article, please pay attention to Beta, and let us discuss the stars and the glory of the game.