Lionel Messi has started a promotional tour in India. Thousands of fans were frustrated by security measures surrounding his appearance at a Calcutta stadium.
The disappointment lived up to the expectations generated. Admirers who came to see their idol Lionel Messi in the flesh, who began a rare promotional tour in the country in India, ransacked a stadium in Calcutta (east) on Saturday after the Argentine superstar was exfiltrated. Visiting until Monday, the 38-year-old, idolized in India where football does not enjoy immense popularity, was greeted on his arrival in the state of West Bengal on Saturday morning by exuberant fans who chanted his name.
Hours later, thousands of fans wearing the player’s jerseys gathered at Calcutta’s Salt Lake Stadium were frustrated by the security measures surrounding Messi’s arrival and the near impossibility of seeing him. According to local media, the world champion walked around the field greeting the crowd and then immediately left the stadium, although he was scheduled to play a few minutes.
“Disorganization in the stadium”
The anger of certain fans, many of whom had paid more than 100 dollars, “a month’s salary” for others, then erupted. Torn seats were thrown onto the lawn, along with water bottles. Then the land was invaded. “Seeing Messi was a dream. But I didn’t have the chance to see him because of the disorganization in the stadium,” 37-year-old businessman Nabin Chatterjee told AFP.
“I came with my son to see Messi, not politicians,” said Ajay Shah, quoted by the Indian news agency PTI, stressing that while he was unable to see the star, police and soldiers who ensured his security “took selfies” with the player. The chaos is due to “organization,” he accused.
Accusation taken up by the authorities, including the chief minister of the state of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, who said she was “shocked” by the poor organization. “I sincerely apologize to Lionel Messi and all sports lovers and fans for the unfortunate incident,” Banerjee wrote on her X account, adding that she had launched an investigation into the events. Before his arrival at the Salt Lake stadium, a huge statue (21 m) of Messi brandishing the World Cup was unveiled in the city. The Argentinian is scheduled to continue his tour in Hyderabad, Bombay and New Delhi.
