We mentioned last week the uproar in Hong Kong over Lionel Messi’s non-appearance for Inter Miami in a recent friendly there, the organisers of the game having to offer decidedly peeved ticket holders a 50 per cent refund and a local newspaper alleging that “a mysterious behind-the-scenes mastermind” was responsible for Messi’s no-show in what was “a blatant attempt at humiliating Hong Kong”. All his Ballon d’Or awards were stolen”; “I used to support the Argentinian claim to the Malvinas. Today, I solemnly declare that from now on, I will no longer accept that the Malvinas Islands belong to Argentina.”Hopefully Lionel’s tweaked hamstring recovers more quickly than his relationship with Hong Kong and Chinese football fans. My wish in life is not that Eintracht Frankfurt should be champions, my wish in life is for this Nazi shit to disappear, to explode in the air, wherever it is. “Like a Brunello di Montalcino or a Sassicaia, he has returned fresh in mind and legs after five months of injury.

Source: The Irish Times February 19, 2024 19:58 UTC