Refund details announced a month after Messi no-show

The organiser of Inter Miami's exhibition match in Hong Kong, Tatler Asia, on Monday announced that fans who bought tickets through official channels would get half their money back if they reply to emails before mid-April. It said people who purchased tickets for the February 4 match through the ticketing platform Klook would receive an email from Monday. They would then have until April 12 to respond and accept the terms and conditions of the refund. Details on the partial ticket refunds were announced more than a month after Argentina football star Lionel Messi failed to play in the game and sparked a public outcry. Lawmaker Johnny Ng, who was at the game at the Hong Kong Stadium, said the organiser should also consider fans who bought tickets through third party websites. "There are a number of people that purchase the tickets not directly through Klook, the official distributors. Some of them may have bought the tickets from third parties, like through social media or some auction platforms... So those people cannot get the reply email from Klook officially," he told RTHK. "They can only chase the money from the people they have purchased the products from. So I think this will [create] some issues. Maybe a large portion of people cannot get the refund." Lawmaker Doreen Kong echoed his views, adding that she thinks the announcement for a refund arrangement hasn't been swift enough. She said the organiser had to make sure that overseas fans have access to terms and conditions of the refund.