‘Paid Rs 41,000, couldn’t even see Lionel Messi for 10 minutes’: Fan anger follows event chaos

A once-in-a-lifetime
event turned to frustration central on Saturday for thousands of fans of Lionel
Messi who had thronged the Swami Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan aka Salt
Lake stadium in Kolkata for a glimpse of their idol.

One young fan from
Behala recalled his experience in conversation with My Kolkata. The
fan and three of his friends had woken up before sunrise to secure a glimpse of
the football legend from Argentina.

“I woke up at 6am to
see him. There were four of us and we paid Rs 10,333 each so Rs 41,332 in
total. One of my friends came all the way from Kalyani and left her house at
5am. And for all that, we couldn’t even see him properly for ten minutes,” said
the 26-year-old fan.

The World Cup-winning
Argentina captain arrived at the stadium around 11.30am, accompanied by
long-time strike partner Luis Suárez and Argentine teammate Rodrigo De Paul.

Messi’s vehicle was
parked near the touchline and as soon as he stepped onto the field he was
engulfed by a crush of VIPs, organisers, celebrities and security personnel,
leaving ordinary spectators in the galleries straining for a view.

The star footballer
walked a short distance on the field and waved briefly towards the stands as
chants of “Messi, Messi” echoed across the stadium.

Messi remained
tightly ring-fenced by security and invited guests, making him barely visible
from large sections of the galleries. Many complained that even the giant
screens failed to offer a clear view.

Frustration mounted
rapidly. Chants of “We want Messi” grew louder as it became evident that the
Argentine star would not complete the full lap of the stadium that had been
part of the original programme.

Instead, Messi turned
back midway and was escorted out well before the scheduled end of his
appearance.

As word spread that
Messi had left the field prematurely, anger spilt over.

Bottles began flying
from the galleries onto the pitch, followed by plastic chairs. Sponsor banners
and hoardings were torn down, fibreglass seats smashed, and sections of the
crowd attempted to rip open barricades to force their way onto the field.

Amid the growing
unrest, sections of the crowd raised slogans demanding the arrest of state
Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas and event organiser Satadru Datta, holding
them responsible for what they alleged was gross mismanagement of the
high-profile event, eyewitnesses said.

They also said the
situation worsened when organisers, including promoter Shatadru Datta and his
team, were no longer visible on the ground soon after Messi’s exit.

Repeated
announcements over the public address system asking unauthorised persons to
leave the field went largely unheeded. Angry fans continued shouting slogans
against the organisers and the state sports department.

Within minutes,
hundreds of spectators spilt onto the pitch, pulling down temporary tents and
damaging equipment placed near the boundary line.

Police personnel
struggled to contain the surging crowd, prompting the deployment of the Rapid
Action Force (RAF) inside the stadium.

Hopes of spotting
Shah Rukh Khan had added to the anticipation of the 26-year-old from Behala,
but even that ended in frustration. “We heard an announcement that he would
come, but we never saw him,” he said.

The match itself was
brief and confusing.

“I don’t even know
what match it was or who played,” the fan from Behala said. “It lasted just a
few minutes. When Messi arrived, the people around him surrounded him so
tightly that no one could get a proper look. When he left, the police said he
would come back so we thought maybe he was taking a short break; but he never
came again.”

As it became clear
that Messi was gone, the crowd erupted.

Water bottles and
chairs flew, people forced their way into the ground and police had to lathi
charge.

“I even kicked the
sound system. We started breaking chairs. The RAF was deployed. We paid so much
money, what for? Even if it was only for a few minutes, we should have been
able to see him properly.”

Even the police
acknowledged the mismanagement, the fan said.

“When we were
leaving, the policemen told us it was the management’s fault and they would
have to face consequences. They said if there had been four people surrounding
Messi, everyone would have had a proper view.”

Overpriced tickets
and food only worsened the anger. Water bottles were sold for Rs 150 and 100 ml
glasses of cold drinks went for Rs 200.

Eventually,
frustration boiled over, and some fans vandalised and looted the stalls as
well.

One man was spotted walking out of the stadium with a rolled-up carpet on his shoulder. When questioned, his frustration spilled out: “I didn’t get to see Messi. All I saw were ministers. I’m taking the carpet home to practise.”

“This was complete
mismanagement,” Ajay Shah, a disgruntled fan who had come with his son, told
PTI.

“People have spent a
month’s salary to see Messi. I paid Rs 5,000 for a ticket. We came to watch
Messi, not politicians. There was no drinking water, and even the police were
busy taking selfies,” he said.

Ticket prices for the
event ranged between Rs 4,500 and Rs 10,000, with many fans arriving early in
the morning in the hope of witnessing the football legend up close.

The chaos also forced
the abrupt curtailment of the programme, with several invited dignitaries,
including Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, former India cricket captain Sourav
Ganguly and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, unable to participate as
planned.

Police sources told
PTI that the situation did not fully spiral out of control only because Messi
was removed from the stadium earlier than scheduled and additional security
forces were rushed in.

(with inputs from
PTI)