Watch: Lionel Messi detained by Chinese police at Beijing Airport, know what happened

Prior to Argentina's international friendly match versus Australia at the Workers Stadium in the Chinese capital, Lionel Messi, the team's captain, was held at Beijing Airport on June 10.

Watch video:

Chinese border police briefly detained Messi as they didn’t recognise his visa Book your holiday flights to Xi Jinping’s police state now everybody! pic.twitter.com/LN5EhMTIKC

— Drew Pavlou (@DrewPavlou) June 12, 2023

Messi was detained at the airport by the Chinese Border Police when he travelled to China to represent his nation in a major battle. Messi's visa was reportedly delayed because he was using his Spanish passport rather than his Argentinian passport, which did not have a Chinese visa. Messi left the airport after the issue was fixed, which took around 30 minutes.

On social media, a video of many police officers stopping the Argentine national team captain while he was holding his passport and chatting with his teammates went viral. Messi reportedly ran into trouble when he arrived because he used his Spanish passport rather than his Argentine passport, according to local media.

Before the situation was settled and he was given an entry visa about 30 minutes after being stopped, Lionel Messi's absence of his Argentine passport confused airport security authorities. 

The Argentina national team will play a friendly match against Australia on June 15 before travelling to play Indonesia at home on June 19. Lionel Messi will then take some time off before joining Inter Miami, his new club, in July.