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Indonesian football fans vexed after Messi pulls out of friendly
People have rushed to snap up more than 60,000 tickets for the sell-out Monday clash between Indonesia and World Cup winners Argentina after Messi's face was plastered across advertising for the event.
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This picture taken on June 11, 2023 shows Murni, a fan of Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, holding her grandson Muhammad Messi Pramudana while posing in front of her residence painted in the colours of the Argentinian flag and decorated with posters of Messi, at Desa Karama in Polewali Mandar. (AFP/Indra Abriyanto)
F
ans of Lionel Messi expressed dismay Friday after the star pulled out of a friendly in Jakarta, including one making a 12-hour boat and plane journey to the game who accused organisers of false advertising.
People have rushed to snap up more than 60,000 tickets for the sell-out Monday clash between Indonesia and World Cup winners Argentina after Messi's face was plastered across advertising for the event.
But following days of speculation, fans in the football-mad country received bad news on Thursday that their hero would not play.
"I'm feeling sad and disappointed, mixed emotions," 31-year-old shop owner Surya Wijaya Ang told AFP from the remote island of Banda Neira in Maluku.
"This was the biggest chance for me to see Messi play in person."
On Thursday the Argentina side beat Australia in another friendly in the Chinese capital Beijing, with head coach Lionel Scaloni confirming that Messi would not make the Indonesian leg of their Asian tour.
Having become a major fan of Messi during the star's time at Barcelona, Ang has amassed a collection of around 200 jerseys adorned with his name.
