[Chungraon = Associate Editor-in-Chief Dongseop David Yeo] Chaos broke out at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium on December 13, 2025, during Lionel Messi’s appearance in India as part of his G.O.A.T. tour. The tour was planned as a three-day visit to four Indian cities, with fellow footballers Luis Suárez and Rodrigo de Paul, both Messi’s Inter Miami teammates, also joining him on the tour.
Fans were angry because many had expected a much closer experience with Messi. The event had promoted activities such as an exhibition match, penalty shootouts, special appearances, and other entertainment programs. However, several promised events never took place. Messi was on the pitch for only about 20 minutes, and many fans said politicians, celebrities, officials, and security staff blocked their view. Some had traveled long distances and paid high ticket prices, only to leave disappointed.
Some meet-and-greet packages in Mumbai and Delhi reportedly cost around ₹1,000,000, or about $11,000, and included a chance to meet Messi and take photos with him. In Kolkata, however, many fans in the stands said they could barely see him, while VIP guests stood much closer to the pitch.
After Messi left the pitch, angry fans rushed toward the field. Some threw bottles and pieces of broken seats, while others damaged parts of the stadium. The incident later led to criticism of the event’s security and crowd control.
The tour’s organizer, Satadru Dutta, was detained by West Bengal authorities after the incident and was accused of mismanaging the event. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also apologized to Messi and fans, and announced an inquiry committee to look into what went wrong and recommend steps to prevent similar problems at later events.
Authorities later said ticket holders should be refunded, but reports suggested that the refund process could become a problem of its own. The organizers also faced heavy criticism over security and crowd control at the stadium.
The Kolkata incident marked a poor start to Messi’s India tour and showed how quickly a high-profile sports event can go wrong when crowd control and VIP access are not handled properly.
/Dongseop David Yeo
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