Footballer Lionel Messi ran into trouble this week when he tried to enter China without a visa for a friendly match against Australia.

Local reports say the Argentine striker thought he could enter the country without a visa using his Spanish passport.

Surrounded by police officers at the border check, he reportedly asked: “Is Taiwan not China?” Travellers can enter Taiwan without a visa on a Spanish passport and Messi apparently thought the same rules applied in China.

Messi had to wait for two hours at the airport for an expedited visa, according to the Daily Mirror.

It was his seventh visit to China and his second trip to Beijing, where he won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.

But you have to wonder, who booked his trip and why didn’t they use a travel agent who would have advised him to apply for a visa?!