- Lionel Messi had to sit out of Inter Miami Hong Kong match due to an injury
- Angry Chinese football fans have taunted the Argentinian footballer, calling him a ‘thief’
- Inter Miami president David Beckham has also been targeted by the spectators
Lionel Messi has been targeted by Chinese football fans stirring up the age-old Falklands dispute between Britain and Argentina.
The Argentinian angered spectators when he sat out of a Hong Kong exhibition game earlier this month.
Anger grew even greater when Messi played in the second half of Inter Miami’s friendly against Vissel Kobe, which was held in China‘s rivals Japan.
As revenge for not getting to see him play they decided to taunt him over the Falklands.
The furious fans-turned trolls took to social media to taunt the 36-year-old, claiming that he is a thief.
Argentina invaded the British-owned Falklands’ in 1982 leading to the Falklands’ war and there is still an argument over which country has sovereignty there.
Lionel Messi has been called a ‘thief’ by angry Chinese football fans after he sat out of match
The 36-year-old is reported to have had to sit out of the exhibition match due to an injury
One troll, Landi Xie, took to Weibo (the Chinese version of twitter) and wrote: ‘The Falklands are an integral and inseparable part of the United Kingdom.’
Another said: ‘The fact that the islands belong to Britain is beyond doubt.
‘Messi is a thief. All his Ballon d’Or awards were stolen.’
Another said: ‘The Malvinas Islands (Falklands) are part of the UK.
‘They were before, they are now, and of course, they will always be in the future.’
The angry Chinese fans used the British-Argentinian Falklands dispute to troll the footballer
Messi wasn’t the only football icon to be hounded due to missing the match.
Inter Miami president David Beckham was booed by the angry fans due to his star player sitting out.
A social media post celebrating the match was another target for the trolls with one writing: ‘Messi even didn’t play for a single second in Hong Kong.’
‘This team is cheating the whole Hong Kong people!’
According to a report in the Telegraph, Tatler, the organiser, offered the fans a 50 per cent refund as an apology for them not getting to see Messi play.
Inter Miami president David Beckham was booed by the furious fans after Messi sat out
The 1982 Falklands’ war lasted two months and cost the lives of 255 Brits and 649 Argentines
The British first got involved with ownership of the Falklands in 1690 and has had sovereignty over the territory almost continuously since 1833.
Argentina owned the Falklands for just a few years prior to the 1833 British takeover.
Believing it was truly theirs, the Argentines attempted to take back control in 1982, resulting in the two-month war that cost the lives of 255 Brits and 649 Argentines.
