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Fury over Messi situation deepens in China after he plays in Japan

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Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, centre, in action against Vissel Kobe at the National Stadium in Tokyo on February 7, 2024ISSEI KATO/Reuters

Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi appears to have recuperated from a groin injury that kept him from playing in a Hong Kong exhibition match Sunday, but the damage to his reputation in China could be harder to fix.

After Messi was a no-show in Hong Kong, fans booed and demanded refunds, and this anger only increased after the Inter Miami star took part in a game against Japanese side Vissel Kobe on Wednesday, with some calling for a boycott and demanding the cancellation of coming Argentina friendlies in China.

Miami’s match in Hong Kong had been heavily promoted as featuring Messi, widely seen as one of the best footballers of his generation. Some fans spent hundreds of dollars for premium seats, while others travelled from mainland China and even as far as Australia, only to be told late in the second half that Messi would not be taking part.

Local organizers are facing an intense clamour for refunds, and have withdrawn their application for major event status, forgoing $2.7-million in government support.

The controversy might have died had Hong Kong been Miami’s final stop on the U.S. side’s Asian tour, but the decision for Messi to play in Japan has riled nationalist anger in mainland China and seen some screaming conspiracy.

“The impact of this incident has far exceeded the realm of sports,” Global Times, a state-run Chinese tabloid, said in an editorial. “The explanations from Messi and Inter Miami are not convincing, and there are many speculations about the real reasons behind it. One theory is that their actions have political motives, as Hong Kong intends to boost economy through the event and external forces deliberately wanted to embarrass Hong Kong through this incident.”

Regina Ip, a senior adviser to Hong Kong leader John Lee, also blamed unspecified outside figures for the incident.

“Hong Kong people hate Messi, Inter Miami and the black hand behind them, for the deliberate and calculated snub to Hong Kong,” Ip wrote on social media. “Messi should never be allowed to return to Hong Kong. His lies and hypocrisy are disgusting.”

She and others pointed to a video clip where Messi appears to avoid shaking hands with Lee, leaving the line of players waiting to greet Hong Kong’s top official. The Argentine is not known for being politically outspoken and has previously been criticized for “sportswashing” by agreeing to be a tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia.

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Fans react during the friendly soccer match between Hong Kong Team and US Inter Miami CF at the Hong Kong Stadium on Feb. 4, 2024. Lionel Messi’s non-appearance was a disappointment for the fans.Louise Delmotte/The Associated Press

In a statement, the city’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau reiterated the government’s disappointment that Messi had not been able to play on Sunday.

“However three days later, Messi was able to play actively and freely in Japan,” it added. “The government hopes the organizers and teams can provide reasonable explanations.”

With the controversy spreading beyond Hong Kong and becoming a trending topic on the Chinese internet – where nationalist campaigns have in the past resulted in boycotts of celebrities and sports teams’ games not being broadcast – Messi intervened Wednesday in an apparent attempt to tamp down the growing anger.

In a post on social media, the Argentine said “anyone who knows me knows that I always want to play … especially in these games where we travel so far and people are excited to see our games.”

“Hopefully we can come back and play a game in Hong Kong,” the post continued in Chinese and Spanish, adding congratulations for the coming Lunar New Year.

Inter Miami also issued a statement – days after The Globe and Mail and numerous other media requested comment about Sunday’s match – saying the club had been “honoured” to visit Hong Kong and understood fans’ disappointment, reiterating that Messi’s absence was solely because of injury.

“As we continue to consume the headlines and negativity towards the different stakeholders, we felt compelled to reiterate the reality of these types of sports injuries,” spokeswoman Molly Dreska said. “Inter Miami would be eager to return to beautiful Hong Kong in the future, should the fans be open to receiving the club again.”

But as Miami headed back to the U.S. for the start of the Major League Soccer season later this month, the controversy showed no sign of dying down. Late Thursday, Messi’s name was still a top trending subject on Chinese social media, with many posts sharing rumours that upcoming friendlies between Argentina and China could be cancelled.

Some Messi fans did push back, circulating a 14-page PDF attempting to rebut criticism of the player and highlight his many achievements. But hours after it was created, an associated hashtag was overwhelmed with insults against both Messi and his supporters.

 

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.

The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.

Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.

In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3

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TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.

Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.

Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.

He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.

The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.

Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.

He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.

George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.

Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.

In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.

St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

ON DECK

Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.

The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Stampeders return to Maier at QB eyeing chance to get on track against Alouettes

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CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.

It won’t be an easy assignment.

Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.

“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”

Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”

Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.

After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.

“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”

Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.

“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.

A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.

“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”

But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.

“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”

Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”

“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.

Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.

“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”

While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.

“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”

The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.

“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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