Lionel Messi's highly anticipated visit to India kicked off in chaos as fans turned violent and threw seats onto the pitch during his brief appearance at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The 2022 World Cup winner, who is currently touring India as part of a promotional event, was mobbed by thousands of enthusiastic fans but quickly became overwhelmed.
According to eyewitnesses, Messi walked around the stadium waving to the crowd but left just 20 minutes after his arrival, sparking widespread panic and violence among the fans. Videos obtained from the scene showed fans throwing ripped-up seats and other objects onto the field and athletics track, with several people climbing over a fence surrounding the playing area hurling objects at the players.
"I'm shocked and appalled by what I saw," said one fan who had travelled nearly 1,500 km to attend the event. "Messi left quickly, I think he felt unsafe. I hardly got a glimpse of him."
The event's chief organiser has been detained by police amid allegations of mismanagement, with authorities vowing to take action against those responsible for the chaos.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has apologised to Messi and ordered an investigation into the incident, describing it as "deeply disturbing" and "unfortunate".
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has distanced itself from the event, stating that they were not involved in its organisation or execution. The AIFF has urged fans to extend their cooperation with authorities and to maintain order.
This is not the first time a high-profile footballer has visited Kolkata, following Diego Maradona's two visits to the city, including a 2017 unveiling of his statue holding the World Cup trophy.
The incident highlights the challenges faced by event organisers in managing large crowds of enthusiastic fans in India.
According to eyewitnesses, Messi walked around the stadium waving to the crowd but left just 20 minutes after his arrival, sparking widespread panic and violence among the fans. Videos obtained from the scene showed fans throwing ripped-up seats and other objects onto the field and athletics track, with several people climbing over a fence surrounding the playing area hurling objects at the players.
"I'm shocked and appalled by what I saw," said one fan who had travelled nearly 1,500 km to attend the event. "Messi left quickly, I think he felt unsafe. I hardly got a glimpse of him."
The event's chief organiser has been detained by police amid allegations of mismanagement, with authorities vowing to take action against those responsible for the chaos.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has apologised to Messi and ordered an investigation into the incident, describing it as "deeply disturbing" and "unfortunate".
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has distanced itself from the event, stating that they were not involved in its organisation or execution. The AIFF has urged fans to extend their cooperation with authorities and to maintain order.
This is not the first time a high-profile footballer has visited Kolkata, following Diego Maradona's two visits to the city, including a 2017 unveiling of his statue holding the World Cup trophy.
The incident highlights the challenges faced by event organisers in managing large crowds of enthusiastic fans in India.
messi was just doing his job and it's not like he did anything wrong. those fans got a bit carried away but i feel bad for him, he's just trying to promote some football events. i think the authorities are being too harsh on the event organiser, they're probably just trying to cover their own behinds 
anyway, it's not like this is the first time something like this has happened in india, people get excited and things can get out of hand, but let's not be too hard on anyone 
... all those people over the moon for Messi and it just turned into chaos 
... gotta feel sorry for the poor guy who was mobbed but didn't even get a chance to play a match 
... security should really be more prepared for events like this 
... don't know how many fans were hurt or injured, hoping no one got seriously harmed 
... like, i get it fans love messi but throwin seats on the pitch? thats just not cool 
... and poor guy left after 20 mins already... what a vibe 
. i'm all for celebratin the footy legend, but do it in a way that doesn't turn violent 
anywayz, hope messi's okay and that ppl take responsibility for what went down 
. I mean, I get that Messi is a superstar and all, but come on! Can't his team handle a crowd of 40k people or so? 
It's not like he was there for hours or anything. And to think he just walked out after 20 minutes... 
. I feel bad for the fans who were excited to see him, but at the same time, it's a mess. I'm all for celebrating our sports heroes, but let's keep the crowds under control, you know? 
. I've seen some wild things in my time, but this is on another level. And poor Messi, gotta feel so uncomfortable trying to wave to fans and make an exit when everyone's going bonkers 
and what did mamata banerjee say to him after she apologized? did she get to talk to him at all? 
. And Messi, who's like a legend or whatever, must've been totally freaked out by the whole thing. I can imagine how overwhelming it must be when you're already famous and then thousands of people are all over you, wanting your attention 
. I mean, I get it, the AIFF said they weren't involved, but still, someone should've been on top of things to prevent this kind of chaos from happening 
. Maybe they should've thought that one through before letting all those fans loose like that 
. Anyway, gotta wonder what Messi's side of the story is... 
. The authorities need to take strict action against those responsible and make sure that something like this never happens again 
. India's love for football is amazing but we need to learn how to handle these massive crowds without losing control 
can't believe the chief organiser got detained by police 
mamata banerjee's apology to messi was a good start tho 
hopefully there'll be an investigation into what went wrong and measures will be taken to prevent this kind of thing from happening again 
fans were literally throwing stuff on the pitch and track... i'm surprised Messi even showed up at all 
It's like they thought it would all just magically work out. Newsflash: it doesn't! 
.
. mamata banerjee apologized to messi and stuff, good move 
fans can be wild but 20 min is like a sec, why did he leave so fast? 
this event was all over twitter rn and i gotta say it's pretty sad seein ppl actin out like that, maybe just a case of overexcitement 
kolkata's always been crazy but this is just wild 
. And then the fans start throwing stuff at each other? That's just not cool 
. I feel so bad for Messi, he must've been super overwhelmed by all the screaming and chaos 
. It's just crazy how some fans can turn violent like that... 
. It's not just Messi's event, it's a bigger issue with crowd management in India 