Lionel Messi's visit to Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata turned chaotic on Saturday after fans resorted to vandalism on failing to meet or catch a glimpse of the star footballer. Angry fans took to vandalising banners, seats and throwing bottles. Messi was forced to cut short his stadium lap over security breach.
Expressing her shock and concern over the mismanagement, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she is deeply disturbed with what was witnessed at Salt Lake Stadium.
"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," she posted on X.
The TMC supremo also apologised to the Argentine icon for the unfortunate incident and announced setting up of a high-level committee to conduct a detailed enquiry.
"I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident. I am constituting an enquiry committee under the chairmanship of Justice (Retd.) Ashim Kumar Ray, with the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs Department, as members. The committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future," she wrote.
What led to the chaos?
Thousands of fans thronged Salt Lake Stadium hoping to see Lionel Messi, but poor crowd management and inadequate planning left many frustrated. A few enraged fans even resorted to throwing bottles and chairs from the spectator stands. As the situation worsened, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed.
Messi had to leave barely 20 minutes after arriving at the stadium at 11.30am. The short duration of his visit, combined with the heavy presence of security and organisers around him, prevented fans from catching a proper glimpse of the football icon.
Authorities made several attempts to clear the route during Messi’s lap of honour, but dense crowds prevented fans/spectators in every section from getting an unobstructed view.
BJP's 'total embarrassment' dig
The handling of the event has attracted criticism from BJP with party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala calling it a 'total embarrassment'. Taking a dig at Mamata Banerjee, the BJP leader said that the Bengal CM can’t even organise or manage an event.
"Total embarrassment on an international stage. A global legend like Messi will see a massive public turnout and yet zero planning & very little security ! CM Mamata Banerjee can’t even organise or manage an event!," he posted on X.
Sharing pictures of the chaos at the Salt Lake stadium, he wrote, "Angry fans were forced to throw bottles and chairs from the stands after being pushed to the brink by sheer mismanagement. Thousands of fans who gathered with hope couldn’t even catch a glimpse of him. Mamata Banerjee must go".
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