SHAH ALAM, Aug 12 — It was a mess right from the start.
While fans were still reeling over the Malaysia-FC Barcelona match on Saturday, some slammed football superstar Lionel Messi for refusing to acknowledge them.
Long-time Messi fan Aaron Balachandran (picture, bottom left), 16, was disappointed his idol did not take to the field at Shah Alam Stadium. To add insult to injury, the Argentinean did not engage with the cheering crowd.
Messi walked out from the dressing room wearing slippers as he sat with the rest of the team by the sidelines during the match. It was widely reported the player suffered a thigh injury during a training session at the National Stadium.
“The least he could have done was to acknowledge us. We were screaming his name throughout the match,” said Aaron.
“It was only when someone spoke to him that he turned around and waved.”
Aaron said Messi should have shown some respect to his supporters.
Shuresh Kumar, 27, expected more from Messi as it was a once in a lifetime experience for local Barcelona fans.
“Messi’s arrogance disappoints me,” he said.
FC Barcelona’s visit to Malaysia hogged the limelight for the wrong reasons since the Spanish giants announced their trip to Kuala Lumpur in February. The FA of Malaysia (FAM) were clueless over Barca’s trip to Malaysia and only learnt about it through newspaper reports.
The venue was also in question after Barcelona officials inspected the field at the National Stadium. Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had on June 5 said he was unimpressed with the field but FAM still held the FA Cup final at the same venue that month.
The stadium was supposed to be closed for six months after the Malaysia Cup final on November 3.
However, FAM general-secretary Datuk Hamidin Amin, had on June 25, insisted the pitch would be ready to host Barcelona.
This was echoed by Malaysia Stadium Corporation chief executive officer Ahmad Halmi Harun, who despite acknowledging the poor pitch, was bullish it would be ready in time.
Nevertheless, Barcelona officials claimed Messi suffered a thigh injury during training at the field on Friday night.
This saw Barcelona officials insisting on a change in venue, as per their contract with local promoters BSC Soccer Sdn Bhd which read: “In the contract, signed in February, we included the possibility (to move the match to a different venue) if the pitch did not meet the necessary conditions. We could not compromise the wellbeing of our players.”
It was then decided that the Shah Alam Stadium would host the match, leaving fans in the lurch as some only found out hours before kickoff.
Khairy was not pleased over the last minute switch of venue, adding: “FAM and Barcelona should have been more hands on in the field inspection”.
Security was a problem as fans and members of the press were treated rudely during the team’s training and after the match.
