Argentina's forward Lionel Messi (right) takes part with teammates in a training session ahead of the friendly match against the Australia national team, at the Workers' Stadium, in Beijing, China, on June 14, 2023. Photo: VCG

The organizer of the friendly between Argentine and Australia issued an apology  on Wednesday after holding sheets  to block fans from seeing soccer megastar Lionel Messi, canceling all Messi’s offline activities at the last minute and other instances of poor planning.
 
China Hongqiao International Investment Co., Ltd., the organizer of the "Argentina China Tour," apologized during a Wednesday conference, saying that it is their first time putting together this kind of event, and some of their arrangement have not met the neccesary standards. The firm asked for understanding from fans and hope they enjoy the friendly on Thursday.
 
Anger from fans toward the organizer has been simmering in recent days since Messi arrived on Sunday. First the organizer pulled up sheets to block fans from seeing the bus driving Messi and his teammates into the hotel upon his arrival. Later it cancelled all Messi’s offline activities, citing “security reasons.”
 
Then the organizer arranged Messi to participate in an exclusive livestream event on Taobao, an Alibaba-backed e-commerce platform, at around 3 pm Wednesday. However, the livestream only lasted 15 minutes with many fans complaining that it was too short.
 
In a latest controversy, the trophy sent from organizer to the Argentine team attracted online attention. The trophy’s design includes both figurines of late Argentina legend Diego Maradona and Messi. However, Messi’s figurine was missing a finger. Soccer fans ridiculed the organizer for making such a basic mistake.

Previously, the organizer was criticized for “robbing the fans” in selling tickets of 4,800 yuan ($680) to see Lionel Messi lead Argentina against Australia in a Beijing friendly on June 15.
 
Global Times