Lionel Messi’s visit to a stadium in Calcutta, India, ended this Saturday in scandal: the Argentine star walked across the pitch, greeted the crowd and was forced to leave earlier than planned due to unrest in the stands and spectators denouncing fraud by the organization of the event.
‘La Pulga’, who was away at the Asian giant until Monday, was greeted in style upon his arrival at the stadium by cheering fans chanting his name. Hours later, at the Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta, thousands of fans wearing the player’s jerseys felt betrayed by the brevity of the event and incidents broke out.
According to local media, the World Cup winner walked across the pitch to greet the crowd and then immediately left the stadium, even though he was due to play for a few more minutes.
The anger of some fans, many of them They had paid more than $100At that moment, a riot broke out in which they ended up tearing up seats and throwing them and water bottles onto the grass. Some even invaded the field.
“Seeing Messi was a dream. But I didn’t get a chance to see him because of the disorganization in the stadium,” 37-year-old businessman Nabin Chatterjee complained to AFP.
Indian police arrested the main organizer of Messi’s visit to Calcutta this Saturday and confirmed that a written undertaking was needed to refund ticket money to the thousands of fans affected by the chaos of the event.
Police authorities reported that the promoter was arrested after he filed a formal complaint about the unrest at Salt Lake Stadium, where the crowd threw objects onto the field in frustration over the star’s fleeting appearance.
The Director General of Police of West Bengal, Rajeev Kumarexplained in a press conference that the chaos arose due to a false expectation regarding the player’s participation.
“The fans were kind of upset or worried because they said he wasn’t going to play.” The plan was for him to come here, say hello, meet certain people and then leave“Kumar explained in detail the discrepancy that triggered the violence.
And he added: “The organizer is informing those affected in writing that the tickets sold must be refunded. Now.” The situation is under control and we have already arrested the organizer“.
The police intervention comes hours after the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjeepublicly apologized and ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the mismanagement.
“I present I sincerely apologize “We thank Lionel Messi as well as all sports lovers and his fans for the unfortunate incident,” Banerjee wrote on his X account, also stating that he had ordered the formation of an inquiry committee.
India’s deputy education minister Sukanta Majumder accused the region’s ruling party of “hijacking” the event and causing the disaster through a corruption scheme in ticket sales.
Audiences felt cheated after paying expensive tickets and not being able to see the Argentine star clearly as a A wall of politicians and officials blocked the player’s view and even the opportunity to take photos.
Following the riots at the stadium and protests at the player’s hotel, Messi’s entourage left Kolkata amid tight security to continue their tour in the city of Hyderabad.
Before “The Flea” arrived at Salt Lake Stadium, an imposing 20-meter-high statue of Messi winning the World Cup was unveiled in the city to honor the greatest soccer player of all time. The statue was commissioned by State Minister Sujit Basu, who wants it entered into the Guinness Book of Records. Choose to believe.
The work was created by artist Monty Pal and his team in just 40 days for Sree Bhumi Sporting Club. The iron giant – assembled using special fiber technology – features the number 10, which lifts the World Cup alongside the traditional Sribhumi clock tower.
The Argentine captain traveled with his Inter Miami team. Rodrigo DePaul And Luis Suarezfor a historic three-day visit covering four cities: Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bombay and New Delhi as part of the “GOAT India Tour”.
With information from international agencies
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