China Detains Teenager Who Hugged Soccer Star Messi
The 18-year-old fan, identified by his family name Di, embraces Argentina’s Lionel Messi on Thursday. Photo: pedro pardo/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images By Liyan Qi June 16, 2023 2:42 pm ET Chinese police said they detained a teenager who captured national attention during a soccer game in Beijing by running onto the pitch and hugging superstar Lionel Messi. The 18-year-old, identified by his family name Di, has been placed under “administrative detention” for disrupting the game, according to a statement on the social-media account of police in Chaoyang district, where the stadium is located. Under Chinese law, administrative detention generally comes with a short stay in jail and doesn’t involve a trial. The punishment for disrupting large cultural and sports events is normal
The 18-year-old fan, identified by his family name Di, embraces Argentina’s Lionel Messi on Thursday.
Photo: pedro pardo/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
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Chinese police said they detained a teenager who captured national attention during a soccer game in Beijing by running onto the pitch and hugging superstar Lionel Messi.
The 18-year-old, identified by his family name Di, has been placed under “administrative detention” for disrupting the game, according to a statement on the social-media account of police in Chaoyang district, where the stadium is located.
Under Chinese law, administrative detention generally comes with a short stay in jail and doesn’t involve a trial. The punishment for disrupting large cultural and sports events is normally up to 10 days in jail.
Di is also barred from watching other similar games for a year, according to the police statement, which included a photo of a red warning card and another showing several security guards chasing after Di, who was wearing the blue-and-white jersey of Argentina’s national team, with Messi’s number, 10, on the back.
“The rules are the rules,” the police statement said. “Fans who cross a line will be punished by law.“
The stunt took place during an Argentina-Australia friendly game on Thursday. Footage quickly went viral on Chinese social media that showed Di dashing onto the pitch, briefly embracing Messi and high-fiving Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, while dodging several security guards. Fans can be heard cheering for him as he runs, before finally falling on the grass and being carried away by several security guards.
A Chinese fan is carried out by security guards after hugging Lionel Messi.
Photo: Ng Han Guan/Associated Press
The game marked the biggest sport event held in Beijing since China emerged from its yearslong stringent Covid-19 restrictions, attracting more than 50,000 spectators to the newly renovated Workers’ Stadium, state media reported.
Chinese president Xi Jinping, a self-described soccer fan, is pushing to transform his nation into a soccer powerhouse. The World Cup in Qatar last year was cited as one of the potential factors that promoted a shift in Covid restrictions as the domestic audience saw how other countries had dropped social distancing.
In an interview with a local television station after the game, Di said he took advantage of what he called lax security at the stadium. “Messi, I’m really sorry but I really wanted to meet you,” he said.
A hashtag about the detention garnered nearly 240 million views within a few hours on microblogging platform Weibo. Comments were mixed, with some praising Di as being brave and living his dream, while others said the punishment is too lenient.
Messi, who has over 8 million followers on Weibo, hasn’t publicly responded to the incident. He posted on his Weibo account in Spanish and Chinese Thursday that he and the Argentina national team had a pleasant visit in China. In an interview with the state broadcaster he said through an interpreter that he spent most of his time at the hotel and training with his friend before the game.
Write to Liyan Qi at [email protected]
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