GOAT India Tour: It was supposed to be a historic day for all the Indian football fans, but it became frustrating and chaotic at the Salt Lake stadium on Saturday as Lionel Messi's highly-awaited event in Kolkata went for about 22 minutes. Post this incident, the AIFF had released a statement where they had raised concerns about the incident at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.
The Indian football had stated that this event was organised by a PR agency and that they didn't have anything to do with this event. They also said that they didn't get any details and that no permission was taken from them, and at the same time emphasised that public safety is very important.
UTTER CHAOS IN KOLKATA
The fans were left disappointed in Kolkata. About 50,000 fans were present at the stadium as a lot of them had reached early, following his arrival in Kolkata. The tickets for this event were really expensive, and for a lot of fans it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch their favourite Argentine footballer live.
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The atmosphere of the venue was lovely as fans were seen chanting Messi's name and an exhibition match was being held. After Messi finally reached with Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, the fans got excited, but it couldn't last long.
After a few minutes, the politicians entered the ground along with officials and security personnel, and that's why the fans couldn't watch Messi properly. The organisers were repeatedly asking to clear the ground, but these requests were ignored. Messi was seen looking uncomfortable as he tried and then had to be moved out.
His leaving left the fans frustrated. They began throwing bottles and damaged the chairs and parts of the stadium. The fans vented their disappointment for an hour as the police were able to control this situation before it got out of hand.
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Messi entered and left without having any effect on the fans. It was supposed to be a celebration of football, but it showed poor planning and left the fans disappointed.