The organiser behind Lionel Messi’s GOAT Tour to India has broken his silence on the controversy that erupted during the Argentine’s visit to Kolkata. The controversy occurred when Messi and his Inter Miami teammates, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, arrived at the Salt Lake Stadium and were immediately surrounded by political leaders and other members of the organising committee. The situation saw the packed stadium crowd get little to no opportunity to catch a glimpse of Messi.
The authorities tried to clear the crowd around Messi but failed. Meanwhile, even Messi left, reportedly due to annoyance by the crowd around him, which prevented him from interacting with fans who had spent a lot of money on tickets. In response, chaos broke out in the stadium as fans were angered by Messi’s departure. Losing their patience, they began to throw bottles and posters. Loud boos followed, and it was total vandalism.
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‘I will lodge a defamation case’
Meanwhile, the organiser, Satadru Dutta, was arrested at Kolkata airport. Taking to social media, he posted a photo of then-West Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas with Messi, who was also under the scanner for being among the group of people surrounding Messi. Biswas lost in the West Bengal assembly elections, and so did TMC.
Posting on his Facebook story, he wrote, “Just because you have lost in the elections, don’t think that you have been punished. I will lodge a defamation case, and if needed, will go to the Supreme Court. I will fight till the end.”
“Repeatedly, I told him not to click pictures here. But, he using his power went on to click photos. He will have to pay for this,” he further added.
After being detained at the airport, Dutta spent 39 days in custody and was granted interim bail by a Bidhannagar court and released on a personal bond of ₹10,000 on January 19. In his Facebook stories, he didn’t name anyone, but it was clear his fingers pointed at Biswas.
In other stories, Dutta stated, “PRESS CONFERENCE IS COMING SOON. EVERYTHING WILL BE EXPOSED. YOU SABOTAGED MY EVENT. YOU VICTIMISED ME. YOU MADE MY THREE YEARS OF EFFORT AND PERSEVERANCE TO VAIN. YOU MADE ALL THE FANS DISAPPOINTED. YOU PUT ME IN JAIL FOR 38 DAYS. NOW ITS MY TURN.”
“THEY THOUGHT SILENCE COULD BURY THE TRUTH…FORCED MY TEAM TO ISSUE GROUND ACCESS CARDS. WHEN THEY REFUSED, GROUND ACCESS CARD ACCESS DENIED. YOU LOCKED THEM IN ROOM ARREST. INTIMIDATION. CONTROL. YOUR STOOGES DIDN’T JUST INTERFERE…THEY BLACKMAILED MY EVENT. THEY SABOTAGED EVERYTHING.”
