In scenes reminiscent of the 1996 cricket World Cup semi-final between India and Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, water bottles and other missiles rained on the manicured football pitch and crowd, denied a chance to get a clear glimpse of the legend, broke through the barricades to storm on to the turf. The crowd damaged tents and equipment and even set fire to some furniture.
Chairs were thrown on to the ground as the police struggled to control an angry crowd, most of whom had paid between ₹4,000 to ₹18,000 to watch Messi. The damage caused to the stadium, refurbished for the 2017 under-17 World Cup, was huge.
Their anger was directed at around 100 people, among them the state sports minister Aroop Biswas, Mohun Bagan president Debasish Dutta and general secretary Srinjoy Biswas, surrounding Messi, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul as they entered the stadium at 11.30am. Many of them had fetched up hours before wearing Argentina, Barcelona and Inter Miami shirts and scarves to see Messi. Denied the chance, they caused mayhem.
Some policemen were assaulted by the crowd and police made a lathi-charge to disperse them.
The Bengal Director General of Police, Rajeev Kumar, told the media at the stadium a few hours later that normalcy had been restored and that an investigation into the incidents had been launched. Kumar and ADG and IG (law and order), Jawed Shamim said that the tour organiser, Satadru Datta, has been arrested after he was detained at the Kolkata airport – Messi’s next engagements are in Hyderabad later on Saturday. “Efforts are on to make a full refund to the fans and investigations are on,” they said.
West Bengal chief minister, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee issued an apology to Messi in a social media message announcing a probe.
She wrote on X: “I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake Stadium. I was on my way to the stadium to attend the event along with thousands of sports lovers and fans who had gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite footballer, Lionel Messi. I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident. I am constituting an enquiry committee under the chairmanship of Justice (Retd.) Ashim Kumar Ray, with the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs Department, as members. The committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future. Once again, I extend my heartfelt apologies to all sports lovers,”
Fans upset
“I came from Kerala to see Messi. It was a total disaster. I couldn’t see him,” said one distraught fan. “I spent ₹15,000 to purchase a ticket in the VIP gallery. All I could see was the face of a state minister on the stage,” said another.
It was a rapid change in the mood of the crowd. The cauldron shook with chants of “Messi, Messi” as the white SUV with a sun-roof carrying the player entered the athletic track. The first hint of chaos came with the superstar being surrounded by people who had on-pitch access. Satadru Dutta was heard repeatedly asking those surrounding Messi and his friends to move away.
“People have paid a lot of money to come and see Messi,” Dutta was heard saying in Bangla on the stadium public address system. But his pleas were ignored in the rush to be in the vicinity of a legend and the need to validate that with a selfie.
All the people in the stands could see of Messi was what was shown on the giant screen. “Messi will leave the stadium if people around him are not cleared,” Satadru Dutta was heard saying. Again, he was ignored.
Messi met former Kolkata club players who had lined-up for a friendly match, which was part of the programme. As the stadium roared, he waved to the crowd. The roar got louder.
But everywhere the Argentina skipper went, he was surrounded by people. Biswas was seen posing for a photograph and in the chaos, Debasish Dutta and Bose handed him a Mohun Bagan shirt.
By then, boos were circulating the stadium. A short while later, Messi left. And then, people started pouring onto the pitch and hurling chairs and water bottles. As this dispatch was being filed, the pitch was full of people who had made their way from the stands.
