Reuters
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Lionel Messi’s tour of India kicked off chaotically on Saturday as fans threw objects, ripped up seats and invaded the pitch at Kolkata’s Salt Lake stadium after the Argentine soccer nice made solely a quick look at a ticketed occasion.
Satadru Dutta, the occasion’s chief organizer, has been detained by police, mentioned Rajeev Kumar, director normal of West Bengal police.
Messi was scheduled for a 45-minute go to to the stadium, however his look lasted simply 20 minutes. Tickets for the occasion had been priced from round 3,500 rupees ($38.65) – greater than half of common weekly earnings in India – however one fan mentioned he had paid $130.
Fans within the Salt Lake stadium within the capital of the jap state of West Bengal threw ripped-up seats and different objects onto the sector, whereas a number of folks climbed a fence across the discipline and hurled objects.
“I can’t believe there was so much mismanagement,” mentioned Eddie Lal Hmangaihzuala, who had traveled almost 1,500 km from Mizoram over two days to attend the occasion.
“Messi left quickly, I think he felt unsafe. I hardly got a glimpse of him,” he instructed Reuters.
The organizers of the tour didn’t instantly reply to a request for a remark.
“We’ve already detained the main organizer,” Rajeev Kumar instructed reporters. “We’re taking motion in order that this mismanagement doesn’t go unpunished.
“He has already pledged in writing that tickets sold for the event should be refunded,” he added.
Messi is in India as a part of a tour throughout which he’s scheduled to attend concert events, youth soccer clinics and a padel event, and to launch charitable initiatives at occasions in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.
The chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, apologized to Messi and ordered a probe into the incident.
“I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake stadium,” Banerjee, who was on her technique to the occasion when chaos broke out, posted on X.
“I sincerely apologize to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident,” she mentioned.
She mentioned she was constituting a committee to conduct an in depth enquiry into the incident, assign duty, and suggest measures to forestall such occurrences sooner or later.
West Bengal, Kerala and Goa states have lengthy had massive soccer followings in in any other case cricket-crazed India.
Multiple incidents of fan riots have taken place at Salt Lake stadium, together with throughout a Kolkata derby match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in 2012 which was deserted after a brick thrown from the stands hit a participant, severely injuring him.
Argentine soccer nice Diego Maradona twice visited Kolkata, and in 2017 unveiled a statue there of himself holding the World Cup within the presence of hundreds of fans.
Messi, who captained Argentina for the primary time in a pleasant match on the Salt Lake stadium in a 1-0 win over Venezuela in 2011, just about unveiled a 70-foot statue of himself in Kolkata earlier on Saturday.