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Kolkata: What was meant to be a historic celebration of football’s greatest icon turned into a day of chaos and outrage at Kolkata’s Yuva Bharati Stadium on Saturday, as thousands of fans who paid heavily to see Lionel Messi were left furious after the Argentine superstar’s visit lasted barely 22 minutes.
The disorder that followed shocked the sporting community and quickly escalated into a political controversy in West Bengal, with Opposition parties launching sharp attacks on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress government over alleged mismanagement, VIP culture and profiteering.
Messi arrived in Kolkata at 2.26 am on Saturday, marking his first visit to India since 2011. His arrival generated massive excitement, with thousands of fans gathering outside the Salt Lake Stadium, which had earlier been renovated for the 2017 Under-17 World Cup. Tickets were priced between Rs 4,000 and Rs 18,000, and many fans travelled from different parts of the country, spending what they described as a month’s salary to witness what they believed would be a oncein-a-lifetime experience.
The Argentine legend, accompanied by footballers Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, entered the stadium at around 11.30 am. Expectations were high that fans would see Messi interact with the crowd, walk the field and participate in a planned felicitation ceremony.
Instead, what unfolded became a glaring example of poor planning and excessive VIP intrusion.
As soon as Messi stepped onto the pitch, he was surrounded by a large group of around 70 to 80 people, including State Sports Minister Aroop Biswas, Fire Minister Sujit Bose, Mohun Bagan president Debasish Dutta, general secretary Srinjoy Bose and several event organisers. The group crowded around the footballer, jostling for selfies and autographs, effectively blocking the view for thousands of paying spectators seated in the galleries.
“Only leaders and actors were surrounding Messi. Why did they call us then? We paid Rs 12,000 for the ticket but could not even see his face,” an anguished fan told Read. Messi was escorted out of the stadium at 11.52 am, much earlier than scheduled. His departure came even before Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and actor Shah Rukh Khan, who had travelled to Kolkata with his son AbRam for the event, could arrive at the venue. The grand felicitation programme announced by organisers was abandoned entirely.
Within minutes of Messi’s exit, disappointment turned into anger. Chants of “we want Messi” echoed across the stadium before rapidly escalating into unrest. Fans began breaking plastic chairs in the galleries and throwing them onto the field. Bottles were hurled toward the pitch, and sections of the crowd breached fencing gates, storming the ground in large numbers.
Temporary structures were overturned, and some were set on fire. Videos that later surfaced on social media showed scenes of chaos, with broken barricades, debris scattered across the stadium and fans occupying the field.
“Absolutely terrible event. He came for just ten minutes,” said a devastated supporter. “He did not take a single kick or penalty. So much money, emotion and time wasted. We could not see anything.”
Another fan, Ajay Shah, alleged profiteering by organisers. “Inside the stadium, a Rs 20 bottle of water was being sold for Rs 150. I paid Rs 5,000 for the ticket and came with my son to watch Messi, not politicians. Even police personnel were taking selfies. The management is entirely responsible,” he said.
Police personnel at the venue were vastly outnumbered and initially struggled to regain control. Chaos continued inside the stadium for several minutes, while thousands of supporters gathered outside, shouting slogans against the administration and organisers. Eventually, a large police deployment resorted to baton charges to disperse the crowd and restore order.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Jawed Shamim later said there were no reports of injuries and that traffic had been normalised. He confirmed that the disturbance remained localised to the Salt Lake Stadium area.
The political fallout was swift and intense.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was on her way to the stadium when the violence erupted, issued a public apology to Messi and football fans. In a post on X, she said she was “deeply disturbed and shocked” by the mismanagement at the venue and apologised to sports lovers and the football icon for the incident.
Banerjee announced the formation of an inquiry committee headed by retired Justice Ashim Kumar Ray, with the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home and Hill Affairs Department as members. The panel has been tasked with fixing responsibility and recommending measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
West Bengal Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar said chief organiser Satadru Dutta had been detained at Kolkata airport, where he had gone to see off Messi. “We have detained the main organiser and are working to ensure that fans are compensated,” Kumar said.
However, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party rejected the government’s damage-control measures. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari launched a fierce attack on the Trinamool Congress leadership, accusing it of turning Messi’s visit into a spectacle of misrule and exploitation.
In a series of social media posts, Adhikari alleged that ruling party leaders hijacked the event for personal publicity while genuine fans were treated as second-class citizens. He also accused organisers of profiteering, claiming water bottles were banned inside the stadium, forcing fans to buy them at inflated prices.
Adhikari demanded a full refund for all gallery ticket holders, immediate arrest of the ministers and organisers involved, and the resignation of Mamata Banerjee, alleging the incident had damaged West Bengal’s reputation at the national and international level.
The chaos overshadowed what was intended to be a landmark moment for football lovers in a state known for its deep-rooted passion for the sport. Earlier in the day, Messi had inaugurated a 70-foot statue of himself on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass near the Sreebhumi Sporting Club through a video link, an event that drew large crowds and celebration.
Messi’s Goat India Tour 2025 is scheduled to continue over three days across four cities, with upcoming events planned in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi. Whether the Kolkata episode will have any impact on the remaining legs of the tour remains uncertain, but the incident has already raised serious questions about crowd management, political interference and accountability in high-profile sporting events in India
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