Lionel Messi’s much-hyped unveiling at Inter Miami ticked all the boxes except for one major gaffe by the official broadcaster Apple TV coverage.
The Argentinian talisman had signed a two-and-half year deal with the Major League Soccer (MLS) club last month as he had become a free agent after his contract with Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain had ended.
Though the signing happened last month, it was only on July 16 that the 36-year-old was unveiled to the Miami fans at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Delayed start
Despite torrential rains, which forced the organisers to delay the start of the function by almost one-and-a-half hours, fans had braved the rain and had thronged in large numbers to get a glimpse of their marquee signing.
But much to the consternation of the fans, Apple TV goofed up with the telecast which was besieged my major technical glitches, especially the audio part.
The audio was not all clear and those who had gathered in large numbers could barely hear what the announcer or the stars on the stage including club co-owner and England football legend David Beckham was saying.
When Beckham stepped on the stage to hand over the coveted No.10 jersey to Messi, he was hardly audible. Though the broadcasters did some damage control exercise quickly and the audio part was clear, it went off again.
The most embarrassing moment came when Messi’s ex-Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets, who joined Inter Miami recently was brought on to the stage to speak a few words.
What was meant to a re-union of two former Barcelona players turned out to be a damp squib as nothing was audible when Busquets started speaking in his native language Spanish.
Angry fans vented their ire on social media where #AppleTV started trending.
Lost in translation
Busquets’s speech in Spanish was also lost completely in translation while weird camera angles and montages without video feeds did not help Apple TV’s cause either.
Apple TV, which holds the commercial rights of MLS games was hoping to cash in on the popularity of Messi, whose arrival is a significant boost to American football with a surge in the demand for matches involving Inter Miami already recorded.
After his much-hyped arrival and now that unveiling is all over, the action is set to unfold with Messi expected to make his MLS debut against Mexican side Cruz Azul on July 18.