The debacle is growing over Lionel Messi's no-show at a sell-out Hong Kong match. The Hong Kong government says it made repeated requests for the football superstar to play in the field or to meet fans, but that call was ignored. Some 40,000 fans - some who paid up to $624 for tickets - had packed the Hong Kong Stadium in the hope of seeing the World Cup winner but went home deflated after Messi stayed on the bench, missing his club team Inter Miami’s 4-1 victory over a Hong Kong squad on Sunday. Inter Miami now travel to Japan for a friendly on Wednesday. It remains to be seen whether Messi will take to the pitch there. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reports.