India was swept by Lionel Messi mania as the Argentine superstar arrived in Kolkata late Friday night, but what began as a celebration quickly spiraled into chaos at the Yuva Bharati Stadium due to severe crowd mismanagement.
Messi was staying at the Hyatt Regency, with official programs starting from 11 a.m. However, within an hour, the excitement among fans turned into frustration and anger, culminating in unrest at the stadium during the exhibition match events.
Messi’s Brief Appearance Sparks Confusion
Messi reached the Yuva Bharati Stadium around noon ahead of the friendly match between Mohun Bagan All Stars and Diamond Harbour All Stars. He was accompanied by close teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo de Paul. Earlier in the day, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan had met the Argentine trio, while Messi also virtually unveiled a 70-foot sculpture made in his honor.
Despite thousands of fans gathering inside the stadium, most were unable to see Messi properly. A large group of ministers, officials, and security personnel surrounded him immediately upon arrival, leaving him barely able to move freely. With cameras flashing from all sides, Messi remained obscured from public view and never appeared clearly on the stadium’s giant screens.
“The fans waited for hours and paid premium prices, but they were denied even a glimpse of Messi,” said one eyewitness at the venue.
Repeated announcements by Sports Minister Arup Biswas and chief organizer Shatdru Dutta failed to calm the crowd as disorder continued to grow.
Fan Anger Boils Over at Yuva Bharati
At 11:52 a.m., Lionel was suddenly escorted out of the stadium, triggering outrage among supporters who had bought tickets worth up to ₹15,000. Feeling deceived, fans began vandalizing advertising boards and breaking seats in the gallery, hurling bottles and debris onto the pitch.
The situation worsened when sections of the crowd breached fencing barriers and entered the field. Police intervened with batons to push fans back, but within minutes, protesters surged forward again, forcing authorities into repeated attempts to regain control.
Calling the entire event a failure, one fan wrote on social media,
“𝑫𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑲𝒐𝒍𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒔’ 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅.”
Planning concerns had surfaced even before Messi’s arrival, and the violent scenes have raised serious questions about event management. With two more days remaining in Messi’s India tour before he departs from New Delhi on December 15, it remains uncertain whether the excitement will recover from this rocky start.
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