Chaos, fan anger, complete disorganization, destruction. The scandal sparked in Kolkata during Lionel Messi’s failed visit to India pointed to one man: Satadru Dutta, the man in charge of the Asian giant’s GOAT Tour 2025 tour. The businessman promotes his proximity to football stars through the social media of his company A Satadru Dutta Initiative.
According to media reports from this country, Dutta was arrested. Jawed Shamim, deputy director general of the Law Enforcement Agency (ADG), confirmed the arrest and said action was taken after the situation at Salt Lake Stadium spiraled out of control. He said: “Now there is normalcy. The second part is the investigation; the complaint has been filed and the main organizer has been arrested…” I assure you that they (the organizers) promise that they will return (the amount of tickets to the fans). We’ll see how it goes.”
Satadru Drutta is a well-known businessman and football fan, particularly the Argentina national team. On his social networks you can see pictures of him with his idols, from Maradona to Dibu Martínez. Such is the devotion to football in our country – and to Maradona – that he named his little son Diego.
Accordingly NowDutta is the promoter and organizer of Lionel Messi’s GOAT India Tour 2025. He runs his company under the name A Satadru Dutta Initiative. He has already brought football legends like Pelé, Diego Maradona and Cafú to India. Their aim was to deliver one of the biggest sporting spectacles in the history of Indian football with the GOAT Tour 2025.
According to a chronology of contributions, in February 2025 Dutta dated Lionel and Jorge Messi. There is even one from mid-2024 with the footballer’s father in which he talks about “crossing his fingers” and that “the countdown has begun”, presumably due to the initiatives for this event. In August, he announced that he had obtained the rights to use Rodrigo De Paul’s image in India.
Dutta, a football-loving businessman, led India and Bangladesh to do so Emiliano Draw Martinez. “I had such an extraordinary trip to Bangladesh(…).The people here with their unparalleled love, care and hospitalityYou really melted my heart. “I look forward to returning to this beautiful country in the near future,” Dibu wrote on his Instagram account at the time. He added: “I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Prime Minister’s Office, the police, the airport authority and many other people whose names you may not know but whose efforts have been no less significant.” They all contributed to creating this special bond that I now share with Bangladesh. Until my next visit, I say goodbye and leave a piece of my heart here. I always enjoy Bangladesh Baazpakhi #LoveBangladesh.”
A few years earlier, Dutta also organized Diego Maradona’s visit to the Indian subcontinent.
But this time everything ended badly for Satadru Duta. The organizer was arrested at the airport as police launched an investigation into alleged mismanagement that led to unrest at the stadium. Now the judiciary will decide what responsibility it bears for the chaos and whether it is appropriate to compensate the disappointed fans. Jawed Shamim, a judicial official there, said legal action would be taken against anyone responsible. “We will determine which points apply and file a complaint. The incident was limited to Salt Lake Stadium. The fans were treated very poorly and we will investigate what went wrong and why,” he said.
Accordingly Telegraph IndiaPolice had warned that water bottles were not allowed in the stadium. However, during the riots, footage showed bottles being thrown from the stands. Several fans later claimed that water bottles were being sold at prices of up to Rs 200 at the venue.
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