World’s greatest ever footballer, World Cup and Copa America winner, man with most ever trophies won in Football, the man with the most assists in Football, one of the greatest ever goal scorers, Lionel Messi arrived in Kolkata. And chaos reigned supreme thanks to the mismanagement by the event organisers.
The chaos started right after Messi landed in Kolkata on the intervening night of December 12 and 13, with thousands of people gathered to welcome the Argentinian legend outside the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport.
Even though Messi landed in Kolkata as late as 2:26 AM, there were massive crowds to see the greatest ever, or GOAT as he is called, arrive. There was so much commotion and noise after his arrival from the fans that the staff at his hotel had to request people to leave since it was already 3 AM.
However, that was just the beginning of the chaos. The real mismanagement was exposed on Saturday, December 13. Lionel Messi appeared at the Salt Lake stadium for only a few minutes, after which, disappointed with the management of the event, he and his entourage left.
Fans, who had paid thousands to attend the event, were left fuming as they couldn’t even catch a glimpse of the global superstar as Messi was surrounded by “VIPs” and local politicians.
The anger of the fans erupted as they hurled bottles and chairs and vandalised the stadium property after failing to get a proper glimpse of Messi during his GOAT India Tour’s first leg. The organiser of the event has since been arrested.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee even had to issue an apology to the legend and to others for the mismanagement that marked Messi’s scheduled event.
I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake Stadium. I was on my way to the stadium to attend the event along with thousands of sports lovers and fans who had gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite footballer, Lionel Messi.
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) December 13, 2025
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The fans who had paid up to Rs 14,000 to see the Argentinian footballer are now set to get their money back after the fiasco. For Messi, who has come to India for the first time, it was a bizarre experience as he heads on to Hyderabad to play in an exhibition match also featuring Telangana CM Revanth Reddy.
As fans struggled to get a glimpse of Messi, security protocols were freely violated as many fans stormed the field of the stadium. Some fans even vandalised stadium infrastructure and riots control had to be deployed at the stadium. Thankfully, nobody was hurt during all the chaos. However, it seems that organisers in India have learnt no lesson from what happened in Bengaluru earlier this year.
Bengaluru stampede during RCB victory parade
Earlier this year, Royal Challengers Bangalore won their first ever Indian Premier League title since its inception in 2008. What was a moment of joy for Bengaluru, turned into a tragedy as 11 people were killed and dozens others injured in a stampede during the victory celebrations at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
Just like in Kolkata during the Messi event, poor management of the event was to be blamed. The authorities didn’t expect such large crowds, the organisers didn’t expect such large crowds, and the entire event turned into total chaos.
No lessons learnt
Bengaluru stampede should have been a wake up call for the organisers of sports events that how much they have to prepare in advance for such events to ensure it all goes smoothly. However, Messi tour organisers don’t seem to have paid any heed. Thankfully nobody was hurt in Kolkata but it all could have gone so wrong.
VIPs trying to get the limelight, lack of security, chaotic management, they should not become hallmark of our sports events and celebrations of sportspersons, foreign and domestic.
It is not as if India can’t manage such events. Following India’s T20 World Cup event win, there were massive crowds in Mumbai during the victory parade. However, that was managed well with no chaotic scenes. So it is possible to conduct such events in India without the chaos, but somehow, organisers and authorities in Kolkata and Bengaluru just didn’t get the notice.
