- Lionel Messi had to cancel the Inter Miami Hong Kong match due to an injury
- Angry Chinese football fans have taunted the Argentine footballer, calling him a ‘thief’
- Inter Miami president David Beckham is also targeted by the spectators
Lionel Messi is being targeted by Chinese football fans who are fueling the age-old Falklands conflict between Britain and Argentina.
The Argentine angered spectators when he sat out a practice match in Hong Kong earlier this month.
The anger intensified when Messi played in the second half of Inter Miami’s friendly against Vissel Kobe, which was held in Chinese rivals Japan.
As revenge for not seeing him play, they decided to taunt him over the Falklands.
The furious fans-turned-trolls took to social media to mock the 36-year-old, claiming he was a thief.
Argentina invaded the British-held Falklands in 1982, sparking the Falklands War and there is still debate over which country has sovereignty there.
Lionel Messi has been called a ‘thief’ by angry Chinese football fans after being sat out of the match
The 36-year-old would have to miss the practice match due to an injury
One troll, Landi Xie, took to Weibo (China’s 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 have been stolen.”
Another said: ‘The Malvinas Islands (Falklands) are part of Great Britain.
“They were in the past, they are now, and of course they always will be in the future.”
The angry Chinese fans took advantage of the British-Argentine Falklands conflict to troll the footballer
Messi wasn’t the only football icon to be hounded for missing the match.
Inter Miami president David Beckham was booed by angry fans for serving his star player out.
A social media post celebrating the match was another target for the trolls, writing: ‘Messi didn’t even play a second in Hong Kong.’
“This team is deceiving the entire Hong Kong people!”
According to a report in the TelegraafTatler, the organizer, offered fans a 50 percent refund as an apology for not seeing Messi play.
Inter Miami president David Beckham was booed by angry fans after Messi’s absence
The Falklands War of 1982 lasted two months and cost the lives of 255 British and 649 Argentinians
The British first became involved in ownership of the Falklands in 1690 and have had almost continuous sovereignty over the area since 1833.
Argentina owned the Falklands for only a few years before the British takeover in 1833.
Believing it was truly theirs, the Argentinians attempted to take back control in 1982, resulting in the two-month war that claimed the lives of 255 British and 649 Argentinians.