Messi event felt like a scam

Arrived at Salk Lake Stadium (Yuva Bharati Krirangan) on Saturday December 13 at 10 am sharp to get a view of Argentine football legend Lionel Messi. On the way to the stadium as I browsed through the news, I saw reports of people coming to attend the event all the way from Nepal, Bangalore, and from other parts of eastern India. Those of us who were privileged to purchase a ticket got to go see inside the stadium, while thousands thronged outside the stadium waiting to get a glimpse of the GOAT – a ‘God’ in their books. 

Buying a Rs-15,000 ticket was a sure guarantee to get the best seat in the house to watch Messi play football. What happened next was a bit sketchy. Messi entered at around 11:35 am. He was completely surrounded by an entourage of camera persons, politicians, administrative officials and possibly organisers of this sham of a show. He took a quick round of the stadium flanked by fellow footballers Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul. 

But you could hardly see him, only his hand for a brief moment waving at the crowd. All the time a crowd of 50-60 people surrounded him, blocking the spectators’ view. But that was enough for the crowd that had been waiting since morning. Finally they would get to see the legend of football play in front of them. But alas that was not to be. He waved his hand one more time, got into his SUV, and he left. 

At first, we were caught in disbelief, but soon realised that it was a cruel joke. The promised 45 minutes by Messi was never going to happen. The whole exhibition match that was billed as the top drawer was entirely a ruse to draw in the crowds. The GOAT of football didn’t even touch a football, or at least that’s what we saw, he didn’t say a word, not even a “Hello Kolkata”, just a silent wave of the hand and a brief blink-you-miss appearance for 15 minutes.

What happened next was nothing short of a nightmare, people started booing, hurling food and plastic bottles, tearing down banners, and literally breaking off seats in the stadium billed as the Mecca of Indian football. Some gentlefolk shrugged and left dejected, some started shouting for refunds, but the most disheartening view for us was the kids, who idolised the footballing icon, shedding tears, never getting to see Messi even touch a ball. 

As soon as the situation became tense, I left with my 19-year-old nephew fearing something horrible might happen next. As we were leaving I saw a car that reportedly belonged to filmstar Shah Rukh Khan taking a U-turn to exit the stadium, possibly being warned by the security detail of what was happening inside. The media was interviewing dejected Messi fans leaving the arena, and choicest curses were being shouted upon the organisers and politicians who graced the event. 

A day that started with keen enthusiasm ended in complete disappointment. While I am not aware of the fine print of my purchase, the events billed as a part of the event today never happened. It all felt like a scam, and we were the literal ‘goats’ in this story. I hope accountability starts with officials and not one person is made a scapegoat. Because for every selfie that every administrative official took with Messi, one paying fan was disrespected and disregarded.