World-famous footballer Lionel Messi visited Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, but was forced to leave within minutes after poor planning and crowd mismanagement led to chaos among fans.
Reports say fans were angry because Messi stayed for only a short time despite tickets costing around £100, and many said they could not even see him properly.
Messi was scheduled for a 45-minute visit to the stadium, but his appearance lasted just 20 minutes.
Videos circulating online show fans ripping out stadium seats and throwing them onto the pitch and athletics track. Several people were also seen climbing over fences and hurling objects onto the field.
Messi Meetup in India, Complete mismanagement in Kolkata Stadium. #MessiInIndia pic.twitter.com/r8XAnqCslV
— World Monitor (@MonitorWarnow) December 13, 2025
They also destroyed tents in the field.
Fans di India mengamuk karena buruknya penyelenggaraan acara meet and greet dengan My GOAT Lionel Messi. 😰
— Extra Time Indonesia (@idextratime) December 13, 2025
Fans berkata Leo Messi hanya tampil selama 10 menit tanpa melakukan acara apa pun dan terlalu banyak pemimpin negara yang mengerubunginya. 😕pic.twitter.com/bkSqLi3IFf
After the incident, the Chief Minister (CM) of West Bengal state, Mamata Banerjee, apologised to the 2022 World Cup winner, Messi.
She said, “I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident. I am constituting an enquiry committee … the committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.”
It is pertinent to mention that Messi is in India as part of a tour during which he is scheduled to attend concerts, youth football clinics, and other events.
The organisers of Messi’s tour of India did not comment but Satadru Dutta, the event’s chief organiser, has been detained by police.
