Kolkata, Dec 13: Lionel Messi’s much-hyped visit to the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday lasted 22 minutes, just enough to underline everything that is wrong in Indian football and the state administration’s mismanagement.
What was billed as a historic celebration of the game’s greatest icon degenerated into a spectacular breakdown of planning, policing and priorities, as angry fans ran riot at the venue after failing to get even a glimpse of their favourite superstar from Argentina.
The chaos was almost ironic.
Messi’s second visit to Kolkata — part of a four-city India tour with Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi to follow — came against the backdrop of the Indian football team’s alarming slide to 142nd in the latest FIFA rankings, its lowest since October 2016.
Arguably the greatest player of all time, Messi arrived just as the sport in the country hit rock bottom, with the domestic calendar in limbo and governance in disarray, and the events at the Salt Lake Stadium summed it up better than any ranking ever could.
What was meant to be a red-letter day for the City of Joy turned into a nightmare by noon.
About 50,000 spectators, many of whom had paid Rs 4,000 to Rs 12,000 — and in some cases up to Rs 20,000 in the black market — watched helplessly as a swarm of politicians, VVIPs, security personnel, and assorted hangers more interested in selfies than crowd control surrounded Messi.
The build-up had been electrifying with fans spending sleepless nights to catch his midnight arrival and then making a beeline to the stadium from early morning. The gates were opened at 8am.
Over 50,000 fans packed the stadium, chanting ‘Messi, Messi’ as former footballers from Mohun Bagan and Diamond Harbour FC — all sporting No.10 jerseys — played a 35-minute exhibition match.
At 11.30am, the GOAT arrived dressed in black, and stepped out of a white Audi to a thunderous applause, and the stadium literally shook. Messi was flanked by longtime Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez and Argentina World Cup winner Rodrigo De Paul.
Then it all began to unravel.
Within minutes, Messi was surrounded by a bevy of politicians, police officers, VIPs and their aides, forming a human blockade that ensured the paying public saw everything except Messi.
Messi looked confused and bemused, gamely signing autographs for former players while attempting a slow circuit of the ground. The situation only worsened.
Promoter Satadru Dutta, his voice choking, repeatedly pleaded over the public address system: “Please leave him alone. Please vacate the ground.”
The appeals fell on deaf ears as dignitaries continued to pile on, and Messi was virtually camouflaged amid a swarm of bodyguards and officials.
Ironically, the easiest way to locate him was by first spotting state sports minister Arup Biswas — clad in a white kurta-pyjama and Jawahar coat — whose attire made him visible from afar.
As word spread that the ‘Prince of Kolkata’ Sourav Ganguly has arrived, tensions escalated further.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, waiting outside near the Vivekananda statue, eventually abandoned his plans altogether.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee who had already started from her residence for the venue had to make a U-turn and change her plans.
Messi was finally escorted out well before his scheduled one-hour stay, leaving the stadium after spending just 22 minutes, and all hell broke loose thereafter.
Angry fans stared with hurling bottles — banned items in an otherwise sporting venue. It was baffling how they were allowed to enter with these objects, which also included food packets. Chairs were then ripped out and thrown.
Fibreglass seats lay smashed across the pitch and the synthetic track.
Two canopies erected for Messi and the chief minister’s enclosure were torn apart, with attempts even made to set parts of them on fire before police intervened.
Gates were battered, the players’ tunnel roof was hammered, and posters torn down.
Some spectators fled clutching broken chairs as trophies of disorder, resembling the political scenes of Bangladesh some months back.
The mayhem continued for nearly 90 minutes.
To their credit, the police showed remarkable restraint, repeatedly pleading with the crowd and resorting only to mild charges in what could easily have spiralled into a stampede.
“This is a complete failure,” said Ajay Saha, who came with his 12-year-old son.
“Cold drinks cost Rs 150-200, water was Rs 200, and we didn’t even see Messi. We spent a month’s salary to watch football, not politicians taking selfies.”
The scenes inevitably evoked Kolkata’s darker sporting memories — the 1996 cricket World Cup semifinal at Eden Gardens, abandoned amid fires and flying bottles, and the 1980 Kolkata Derby stampede, which claimed 16 lives.
Messi came and left. The GOAT’s visit was meant to inspire. Instead, it served as a mirror reflecting a game, and an administration, in profound disarray. (PTI)
