Lionel MessiIndia’s “GOAT Tour” was marred by chaotic scenes on Saturday when fans broke seats and invaded the pitch. argentina Brief appearance of the star.
Messi’s tour will see him travel from Kolkata to Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi. However, it did not turn out to be a dream start, as his appearance was reportedly reduced to just 20 minutes due to violence.
The highlight of the opening day of the tour was the unveiling of a 70-foot statue of Messi – believed to be the largest statue of a footballer ever built.
Messi, who was accompanied by teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, walked a short distance onto the pitch and waved briefly towards the stands amid loud chants of “Messi, Messi”, but fans soon realized that the footballer was tightly surrounded and was barely visible from large parts of the stadium.
Messi’s appearance ended before he could complete a full lap of the stadium, leading to violent scenes.
“Only politicians and actors were around Messi,” a fan told news agency ANI. “Then why did they call us?
“We got a ticket worth 12,000 rupees ($130), but we couldn’t even see his face.”
Area Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee apologized to Messi and ordered an investigation into the incident.
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“I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at the Salt Lake Stadium,” Banerjee, who was visiting the event when the chaos broke out, posted on Instagram.
“I sincerely apologize to Lionel Messi as well as all sports lovers and his fans for this unfortunate incident,” she said.
“I am constituting an inquiry committee… The committee will conduct a detailed investigation into the incident, fix responsibility and recommend measures to prevent such incidents in future.”
The Indian Football Federation said it was “deeply concerned” by the scenes, and while saying it was not involved in the planning of the event, it deferred responsibility to the PR agency that organized it.
