VANCOUVER — A British Columbia judge says he’ll decide on Monday whether to approve a settlement in a class-action lawsuit against the Vancouver Whitecaps over soccer star Lionel Messi’s no-show at a game in 2024.
The lawsuit against the team and Major League Soccer was filed after the game with Inter Miami was heavily marketed as featuring stars including Messi, Luis Suárez and Sergio Busquets, but they didn’t end up playing.
The proposed settlement calls for updates to the team’s ticketing policies and a $475,000 charitable donation.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Andrew Majawa heard Friday that the settlement is more favourable than a so-called direct distribution of funds to the 50,000 class members, since they would get only a few dollars each.
Simon Lin, a lawyer for the class, says the settlement funds wouldn’t be very “meaningful” for each class member, but if they go to charities such as KidSport BC, the money could fund annual sports fees for thousands of families.
Lin says the representative plaintiff, Ho Chun, should receive a $2,500 honorarium for coming forward.
Chun has faced online criticism since coming forward, Lin says.
“His name is on Reddit, on Facebook, basically people talking about him and saying various things,” Lin says. “The plaintiff has basically been subjected to internet misinformation, disinformation, all because he came forward … And when it’s out there on the internet, there’s no more control over it. He’s associated with this forever.”
Lin says the publicity around the case hasn’t been “positive” for Chun, and that could discourage people from putting their names to class-action lawsuits in the future.
Majawa says the online posts, including those on Reddit, are a “significant consideration” in assessing the stakes for representative plaintiffs to come forward publicly and be identified.
The settlement was reached after a mediation session with a retired judge last year, and Majawa says he will deliver his ruling on Monday morning.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2026.
The Canadian Press
