Lionel Messi’s visit to India turned sour after furious fans stormed the pitch and resorted to vandalism at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
Angry fans who had splashed out on expensive tickets to see the Argentina legend in the flesh began hurling bottles and attempting to break the gates between the stands, allegedly protesting the mismanagement of the event after Messi left early.
Messi was present as part of a tour during which he is scheduled to attend concerts, youth football clinics, a padel tournament and launch charitable initiatives at events in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.
The Inter Miami star arrived at the Salt Lake Stadium at 11.15am local time, but only stayed for approximately half an hour before being rushed away, unable to complete a full lap of the stadium due to the chaos.
There were around 80,000 paying fans inside the 85,000-capacity venue, according to locals reports, some of whom had paid up to £99 to see the World Cup winner.
Tensions flared as many were unable to catch a glimpse of the Argentinian as he was mobbed by a huge entourage which included his Inter Miami teammates Luis Suárez and and Rodrigo De Paul.
‘Only leaders and actors were surrounding Messi,’ a fan told ANI news agency. Why did they call us then? … We have got a ticket for 12,000 rupees (£99), but we were not even able to see his face.’
Chants of ‘we want Messi’ broke out in the stands before frustrations boiled over and fans began climbing fences and storming the pitch in a desperate attempt see the right winger before his abrupt departure.
Astonishing footage shared to social media on Saturday morning also showed huge crowds of supporters launching bottles and damaging the fibreglass seats, forcing police to intervene as they struggled to deal with crowd control.
Police scrambled to contain the crowd shortly after the violence erupted, with local reports claiming officers were forced to used batons to disperse the crowd.
Pictures of the carnage show fans tearing down banners, smashing the stadium’s speakers and swearing at officials on the pitch.
‘We’ve been cheated — there’s no other word for it. The programme said Messi would be here for nearly two hours,’ a tearful fan told the National Herald.
‘The least they could have done was let him take a lap of the stadium. Is this really what we paid for?’
The chief minister of West Bengal state, Mamata Banerjee, apologised to Messi and ordered a probe into the incident.
‘I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake stadium,’ Banerjee, who was on her way to the event when chaos broke out, posted on X.
‘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 enquiry committee… the committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.’
Shehzad Jai Hind, a spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party, described the incident as a ‘total embarrassment on an international stage’ and called for Banerjee to resign.
‘A global legend like Messi will see a massive public turnout and yet zero planning & very little security ! CM Mamata Banerjee can’t even organise or manage an event!’ he wrote on X.
‘TMC leaders surrounded him and fans were denied! Messi had to leave asap! What if something would have happened to fans or the guest? This was like what we say in Bengaluru stampede where many lost lives !
‘Scenes of chaos and complete mismanagement at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium. Angry fans were forced to throw bottles and chairs from the stands after being pushed to the brink by sheer mismanagement.
‘Thousands of fans who gathered with hope couldn’t even catch a glimpse of him. Mamata Banerjee must go.’
Director general of the West Bengal police, Rajeev Kumar, told reporters that the event’s chief organiser Satadru Dutta has been detained.
‘We’ve already detained the main organiser,’ Kumar said, as per Reuters. ‘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.’
Messi was visiting India for the first time since 2011, and this time the former capital city built a remarkable 70ft statue of the icon to mark his visit.
The winger also unveiled a huge 70-foot tall statue of himself in Kolkata on Saturday.
The iron behemoth is the largest statue of any footballer in the world and is around 13 times taller than Messi himself.
The statue is situated in Lake Town, South Dum Dum, near the Kolkata Time Zone Tower – a one-third sized replica of London’s Big Ben.
West Bengal, Kerala and Goa states have long had large soccer followings in otherwise cricket-crazed India.
Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona twice visited Kolkata and in 2017 unveiled a statue of himself holding the World Cup, in the presence of thousands of fans.
