Former footballers, Dipendu Biswas, Amit Das, Ashim Biswas, Dulal Biswas, who were all part of the Mohun Bagan Messi All Stars squad, stood standstill at the Salt Lake stadium as hundreds of unwanted people surrounded Lionel Messi, while he was acknowledging the fans that turned up for the G.O.A.T tour event in Kolkata, on Saturday. The situation went out of control as the World Cup–winning Argentine captain decided to leave the stadium after just 22 minutes. What led after Messi’s exit was total pandemonium, with the fans throwing water bottles, uprooting the bucket seats and invading the pitch. Satadru Dutta, the event’s chief organiser, was detained by police from the Kolkata airport, said Rajeev Kumar, director general of West Bengal police.
“We’ve already detained the main organiser,” Rajeev Kumar told reporters. He added, “We’re taking action so that this mismanagement does not go unpunished. He has already pledged in writing that tickets sold for the event should be refunded.”
The chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, condemned the incident and apologised to Messi and the fans and ordered a probe in a statement on her ‘X’ handle. She wrote, “I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake stadium. I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident.”
The West Bengal Chief Minister constituted an enquiry committee headed by Justice (Retd.) Ashim Kumar Ray, with the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary – Home and Hill Affairs Department – as members. The committee will recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.
It is not the first time that the City of Joy has witnessed legendary footballers. Legends like Pele, Diego Maradona, Cafu, Oliver Kahn, Emiliano Martinez have been to Kolkata. The same sports promoter brought superstars like Pele and Maradona to the city. But this time, it was a total organisational failure and mismanagement. Let us now look at how the mishap could have been avoided, with the fans who turned up in numbers, getting their money’s worth.
1. First and foremost, there was no arrangement of an open-top-car where Messi could have been taken around the stadium, which was the case when Diego Maradona visited Salt Lake stadium back in 2008.
2. Why was Messi surrounded by so many people – friends and relatives of politicians, film artists and media personnel, who in turn were busy taking selfies and photos with the soccer stars?
3. Those encircling Messi, including the on-duty police, were absorbed in clicking selfies with him. One could notice at least acouple of times a few pushing Luis Suarez and De Paul out of the way to get a clearer selfie with Messi.
4. Fans, who turned up to watch Messi, were made to wait for almost 3 hours. All the entry gates of Salt Lake stadium were opened for the spectators from 8am. The event started with a live performance of Anik Dhar (singer of the theme song for Kolkata event), followed by a dance performance. An exhibition match between Mohun Bagan Messi All Stars and Diamond Harbour Messi All Stars, featuring former and current players took place next. So, the fans (a majority of them were facing the sun) began to feel restless as they were at the stadium to watch only Messi.
5. As soon as Messi arrived at the stadium, hundreds of people out of nowhere surrounded his car, making it difficult for the Argentine, along with his compatriots Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suarez, to find a way to the centre of the pitch, where the players of Mohun Bagan Messi All Stars and Diamond Harbour Messi All Stars were waiting.
6. Why was another party entrusted with issuance of passes? As many as 6000 passes were issued by them which Satadru Dutta didn’t know about. Many among those who were holders of those passes were allowed to enter the pitch and to click selfies and pose with the Argentine legend.
7. Who are those people that were with the sports minister Arup Biswas? Among the known faces who were seen surrounding Messi included film star Subhashree, daughters of politicians, social media handlers of politicians, and many more unwanted people.
8. Why were water bottles, flag poles, sticks allowed inside the stadium? It was a clear case of organisational failure. It was learnt that water bottles were being sold inside the stadium. The question is why were they allowed as after Messi left the stadium, frustrated fans began to throw the bottles, which could have caused serious injuries.
Also Read: Messi in Kolkata: Why We Should All Hang Our Heads in Shame
