What was meant to be a celebration of Lionel Messi and Kolkata’s love for football descended into chaos as angry fans vandalised the iconic Salt Lake Stadium after the Argentine football great was whisked away by his security team after making a brief appearance at the ground. Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia has now said that it is disappointing that the genuine fans of Messi, who paid for the tickets, never got to actually see him.
“It is a bit disappointing because I heard that around 80,000 fans turned up. Everybody loves Messi, but genuine fans did not really get to see him, which is very unfortunate,” Bhutia is quoted as saying by PTI. He hoped that organisers learn a lesson and ensure such a situation does not occur again, he said, adding, “It also spoils the country’s name.”
Bhutia said that the intentions behind the visit was good but the organisers should have done a better job at keeping “unwanted VIPs” at bay. “I think it was a very good visit, but unfortunately things did not go according to plan. I think the organisers were under huge pressure. What we saw and heard was that a lot of unwanted VIPs came to the stadium and surrounded Messi, while the genuine fans did not get to see him. I hope this kind of incident does not happen,” he said.
‘Every fan is going to get upset’
Messi arrived at the stadium around 11.30am but left the field after spending just over 20 minutes there. As soon as Messi entered the ground, he was surrounded by a human barricade of security as well as a lot of other people. Even on repeated requests, the field was not cleared and the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner, who was waving at the fans, ultimately had to be escorted out at around 11.53 AM.
Chaos ensued as soon as Messi exited the field. Fans who had paid tickets ranging between Rs 3.8k to Rs 11,800, raised loud jeers and then the situation turned worse. The fans then started to throw chairs as well as bottles into the ground while thousands invaded the ground. There was also a small fire when a VIP seat on the field was set blaze but it was immediately doused before any damage.
“The organisers should make sure that the genuine fans should actually get to see their real idol and football hero. Every fan is going to get very upset, because some have come from very far away. We saw that many fans came from the Northeast as well, and even from Bengal. When you pay and come to see Messi, whom people worship, and you don’t get to see him because of a lot of unwanted, self-claimed VIPs surrounding him, then it becomes very difficult,” Bhutia added.
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