Police detain organiser of Lionel Messi visit after Indian fans rip up seats
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KOLKATA – Argentina star Lionel Messi’s tour of India kicked off chaotically on Dec 13 as fans threw objects, ripped up seats, invaded the pitch and broke the stage after the football great made only a brief stadium appearance, shielded from view by a large entourage.
Satadru Dutta, the event’s chief organiser, has been detained by police, said Rajeev Kumar, director-general of West Bengal police.
Messi was scheduled for a 45-minute visit to the stadium, but his appearance lasted just 20 minutes. Tickets for the event were priced from around 3,500 rupees (S$50) – more than half of the average weekly income in India – but one fan said he had paid S$167.
Fans in the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata threw ripped-up stadium seats and other objects onto the field and track, while several people climbed a fence around the field and hurled objects, video from ANI news agency showed, after an appearance that lasted just 20 minutes, according to Indian media.
“I can’t believe there was so much mismanagement,” said Eddie Lal Hmangaihzuala, who had travelled nearly 1,500 km from Mizoram over two days to attend the event.
“Messi left quickly. I think he felt unsafe. I hardly got a glimpse of him,” he told Reuters.
The organisers of the tour did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We’ve already detained the main organiser,” Kumar told reporters.
“We’re taking action so that this mismanagement does not go unpunished. He has already pledged in writing that tickets sold for the event should be refunded,” he added.
Messi is in India for a tour including concerts, youth football clinics, a padel tournament, and charitable initiatives in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi.
The Chief Minister of West Bengal state, Mamata Banerjee, apologised to the Argentina footballer and ordered a probe into the incident.
“I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake stadium,” Ms Banerjee, who was on her way to the event when chaos broke out, posted on X.
Argentine football star Lionel Messi with his Inter Miami teammates Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suarez at a stadium in India.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident,” she said.
“I am constituting an inquiry committee... the committee will conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.”
West Bengal, Kerala and Goa states have long had large football followings in otherwise cricket-crazed India.
Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona, who died in 2020, twice visited Kolkata and in 2017 unveiled a statue of himself holding the World Cup, in the presence of thousands of fans.
Messi, who played in a friendly match at the Salt Lake Stadium in 2011 in which Argentina defeated Venezuela 1-0, virtually unveiled a 21-metre statue of himself in Kolkata on Dec 13. REUTERS
