Argentine icons Lionel Messi and Rodrigo de Paul, along with former Uruguay star Luis Suárez, were scheduled to remain at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium for around 45 minutes. However, according to Reuters, the trio left the venue after just 20 minutes, triggering widespread anger among fans.
Spectators in the galleries struggled to catch a glimpse of Messi as he was surrounded by a tight ring of officials, celebrities, and security personnel. As frustration grew and unrest began to spread, a senior West Bengal police officer later announced that ticket holders would be refunded.
High Ticket Prices Fuel Anger and Disappointment
Ticket prices for the event reportedly started at ₹3,500, an amount higher than the average weekly income for many in India. Some fans said they paid far more, with one supporter revealing he spent nearly $130 (around ₹15,800) just to attend the event.
Many fans felt deeply let down after spending large sums in hopes of seeing Messi in person. One supporter, who traveled nearly 1,500 kilometers from Mizoram, expressed disbelief at the situation.
“𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆. 𝑰 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
Stadium Vandalism and Police Action Follow Chaos
As anger spilled over, parts of the Salt Lake Stadium were vandalized. Chairs were damaged, dressing room areas were targeted, and there were even reports of attempted arson and theft inside the venue.
Another frustrated supporter told local media:
“𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊. 𝑾𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒅 ₹12,000 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆.”
Following the unrest, West Bengal Police detained one of the event organizers, Shatdru Dutta, at the airport. State police chief Rajiv Kumar confirmed that the organizer had provided a written commitment to refund ticket money.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒅. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕,” 𝑲𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.
The incident has sparked widespread criticism over crowd control and event planning, leaving football fans across West Bengal furious and disappointed after what was meant to be a historic moment.
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