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Thousands of fans were left dejected as the Kolkata leg of Lionel Messi's GOAT tour of India turned into a nightmare on Saturday, December 13. Fans wreaked havoc at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, vandalising the venue in anger after Messi left early owing to poor crowd mismanagement and security issues.
Messi landed in Kolkata on Saturday amid fan frenzy in Kolkata as the city was swept in football fever to welcome one of the greatest footballers of all time. The Argentine legend was scheduled to take part in an event at the Salt Lake Stadium, where thousands of fans waited in anticipation to get a glimpse of their favourite footballer.
However, Messi spent only little more than 20 minutes at the venue before his team were forced to cancel the event. The Argentine superstar left the venue early, cutting short his stay. Fans, who paid hefty amounts for tickets, were left disappointed after failing to get a glimpse of their favourite footballer.
Soon after Messi left the venue, a chaos broke out at the stadium as fans stormed on to the pitch and vandalised the stadium property. Fans expressed their anger by throwing bottles and other objects on the pitch, before ransacking the venue as it led to complete security failure at the venue.
While fans had started thronging the Salt Lake Stadium from early morning, waiting in anticipation, Messi arrived at the venue at around 11:30 AM. The Argentine football legend, who was accompanied by his Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, was welcomed by a loud ovation from the crowd. Messi was expected to take part in multiple events at the stadium.
However, minutes after his arrival, Messi and his teammates, who were already accompanied by a big entourage, found themselves surrounded by politicians, officials, VIPs, and families of politicians at the stadium, with many pushing Messi and his teammates for selfies.
As per PTI, people formed a living wall around the Argentine legend, which meant fans inside the stadium were denied a clear view of the footballer. Messi himself appeared puzzled at the continuous requests for selfies, even as promoter Satadru Dutta urged the crowd to step back and leave the three footballers alone.
“Please leave him alone. Please clear the ground," Dutta was heard shouting on the public address system. However, his requests fell on deaf years as more dignitaries swarmed in with selfie requests. The lack of crowd management eventually forced Messi's team to cancel the event and escort the Argentine footballer out of the stadium.
Messi was expected to stay at the venue for an hour, but his team decided to cut short his stay. The news of Messi's early departure sparked chaos inside the stadium as agitated fans breached security and vandalised the venue in anger.
Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly, who was one of the chief guests at the event alongside Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, reportedly requested Messi and his team to consider staying at the Salt Lake Stadium for a little longer. However, the footballer's team had decided to leave.
As per a report in LiveMint, Ganguly, along with the likes of West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas and West Bengal police DGP Rajeev Kumar, tried to persuade Messi and his team to stay a little longer after the event was cancelled.
"It would be nice if you stayed a little longer," Ganguly was heard saying.
However, Messi and his team left the venue early, leading to chaos at the Salt Lake Stadium. The Argentine legend has now reached Hyderabad for the second leg of his India tour. Messi, Suarez and De Paul will take part in an event at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday night.
