Recently, Messi's team carried out the India tour. Although the second and third stops were successfully concluded, the chaos at the first stop, Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium, still left some unpleasant memories. Camel Live detailed the chaotic scene at that time, with the original text as follows:
On Saturday in Kolkata, almost everything that could go wrong at the Salt Lake Stadium did.
Nearly all those who witnessed the chaos agreed that the root cause of the riot was that someone from the entourage of politicians and organizers approached Argentine football legend Lionel Messi, and while pestering him to sign a T-shirt, the pen scratched his body. This immediately attracted the attention of Messi's security personnel, who "implied" that the security was insufficient and might pose a danger to Messi. It was after this incident that Messi told event organizer Satadru Dutta (now detained by the police) that he wanted to leave the stadium.
About 60,000 spectators knew nothing about what had happened. After waiting in vain for their idol to appear again without success, they vented their anger on the stadium and its facilities.
Officials dealing with the aftermath of the damage and violence almost unanimously agreed that the widespread distribution of "VIP passes" to the ruling party, organizers and their extended families triggered a chain of events leading to the disaster. A "VIP pass" holder was photographed clutching Messi's hand to take a selfie, while Messi wanted to wave to the fans. The situation then deteriorated rapidly. After the riot broke out, people without tickets poured into the stadium. However, the chaos had already begun. When the white Audi carrying Messi and his Inter Miami teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul entered the stadium at 11:30 a.m., the stadium was immediately surrounded by VIPs, politicians, police officers and their entourages.
Messi, Suárez and De Paul struggled to get out of the car amid the crowd. At one point, Messi looked happy and walked to the center circle with his teammates, while former Indian internationals lined up to greet him. Former forward Dipendu Biswas said he touched Messi's left foot and asked him to sign a jersey. Mehtab Hussain also bought a jersey signed by Messi for his son.
Trouble started when politicians and some police officers tried to approach Messi to take photos with him. "Some selfie-takers started shoving him in a shocking way," a witness said. Messi appeared uncomfortable but tried to stay calm. "He is used to extreme adulation, but this was different. The shoving just wouldn't stop," a witness said.
Event organizer Dutta repeatedly called for order, but his requests were ignored. The police surrounding the footballers, instead of protecting them from the rioting crowd, were busy taking selfies with Messi. Many were seen pushing Suárez and De Paul aside to get close to Messi. As Messi walked towards the "VIP lounge", a woman rushed in to take photos.
"I heard his agent say 'vida' (meaning 'life' in Spanish) to Messi," a witness said. "That's when I realized Messi's team felt a serious threat to his safety and wanted to leave." Moments later, chaos erupted: seats were torn apart, iron railings collapsed, and thousands of people poured into the stadium. Canopies and sofas prepared for VIPs were set on fire. The government has so far assessed the damage at 250 million rupees. Officials said the figure would rise as the assessment is still ongoing.
Bidhanagar Commissioner Mukesh said summonses have been issued to several people involved in organizing the event.
