The Consumer Council has received dozens of complaints over football great Lionel Messi's absence from Inter Miami’s exhibition match in Hong Kong on Sunday.

The watchdog reported 56 complaints from locals and visitors, involving nearly HK$320,000, as of 5.30pm on Monday.

In a statement, the council said while the event organisers, Tatler Asia, had not specified or guaranteed that individual players would definitely play when tickets were sold, it had not mentioned that some might not play due to injury.

The council added that most promotional materials featured photos of certain players and indicated they would lead the team, so consumers could reasonably expect them to appear in the match.

It urged Tatler to explain whether there will be other arrangements, or compensation, to appease the fans.

The watchdog said refunds might not be ideal for fans who simply wanted to see Messi play. It also urged all ticket holders to keep their tickets or receipts for possible claims in future.