Kolkata: Chaos reigned at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata on Saturday as angry spectators took to the field to vandalise infrastructure after football legend Lionel Messi left the venue much earlier than expected.
The local police eventually brought the worsening law-and-order situation under control, and even arrested the main organiser of the event.
As the development snowballed into a political row, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee apologised to Messi in a post on X, and also said a panel had been set up to probe what went wrong .
Fans paid thousands of rupees to attend what was billed as a marquee event — some even more as they travelled from other states — and appeared to be happy when the World Cup-winning retired Argentine captain arrived at the stadium, formally called the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, at 11.30 am.
He was expected to take a lap of the stadium and greet fans. And he began doing so, but the spectators would later say that he was almost lost in the crowd of policemen, private security personnel and politicians. However, he did not complete that lap, leaving with his retinue just 10-15 minutes after he arrived.
Kolkata-based former footballers were later heard telling local news channels that he was not even allowed to kick a ball, let alone take a penalty kick, while he was on the ground. As it became clear that Messi was not returning, angry fans vandalised the stands before pouring into the ground, where they destroyed infrastructure and equipment.
Fans would later blame VIP culture — one attendee confirmed to DH that politicians were seen taking selfies with Messi while he was on the field — and overall mismanagement, and demanded action against the state’s Sports Minister Aroop Biswas.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) released a statement in which it said it was “deeply concerned by the events that transpired at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan”. It, however, distanced itself from the event, saying: “This was a private event organised by a PR agency. The AIFF was not involved in the organisation, planning, or execution of this event in any capacity.”
ADG (Law and Order) Jawed Shamim subsequently confirmed to reporters that the main organiser of the event, Satadru Dutta, had formally been arrested and an FIR had been lodged in this regard. The CM, meanwhile, said on her X post: “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. [sic]”
However, Bengal BJP chief Suvendu Adhikari, in an open letter to Governor C V Ananda Bose, urged him to exercise his constitutional authority to constitute a “truly independent enquiry committee” to probe the matter.
Sequence of events
• Messi leaves Kolkata stadium event after just 10-15 minutes • Angry fans vandalise the venue; cops resort to mild force to bring the situation under control • Fans express disappointment in conversation with DH, say Messi was hardly visible • Police detain, then arrest main organiser Satadru Datta; FIR registered • West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee sets up panel to probe incident • Bengal BJP chief Suvendu Adhikari urges Governor C V Ananda Bose to set up ‘truly independent’ enquiry panel • AIFF distances itself from incident, says it was a private event organised by a PR agency