Former Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia.
Credit: PTI Photo
Raipur: Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Saturday expressed disappointment over the chaos at a stadium in Kolkata during an event attended by Argentine football icon Lionel Messi, and said organisers should ensure that such incidents do not recur as they hurt the country's image.
Bhutia was talking to reporters at the airport here after returning from Jagdalpur where he attended the closing ceremony of Bastar Olympic 2025 event.
Asked about the incident at Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata, he said, "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." 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." Talking to PTI Videos, Bhutia said Messi's visit was a good initiative but was marred by poor organisation which prevented genuine fans from seeing their idol.
"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.
"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," he added.
Asked about the football scene in India, Bhutia said it was "not in great shape" at present, "but hopefully in future its will get sorted".
He also praised the `Bastar Olympic' event in Chhattisgarh, terming it a good initiative to connect youth, particularly from Naxal- affected areas, with sports.
"Sports is the best medium to connect with the younger generation. It was a very good initiative. I hope in the coming years we will be able to see good sportspersons emerging from Chhattisgarh, specially from Bastar," Bhutia said.
Noting that he himself belongs to the tribal community, the former captain of the Indian football team said tribal communities are naturally gifted in sports. The Northeast is an example as 70 to 80 percent of medal winners from the region are tribals, he said.