The thousands of crowd, who had gathered at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium to witness Lionel Messi, resorted to violence after being left disappointed with the mismanagement. They even accused politicians of hogging Messi's time and not delivering on promises like getting Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan at the event.
Such was the chaos that police personnel had to use force to disperse the angry crowd after they tried to vandalise the stadium on Saturday. Videos emerged of fans vandalising the tent and even the goal post.
A female fan, who had travelled from Darjeeling - the northern most part of the state, claimed she had purchased the ticket for Rs 12,000 but failed to get a glimpse of the talisman, who enjoys massive fanfare across the globe.
Similar feeling was echoed by several others. "Only leaders and actors were surrounding Messi...Why did they call us then... We have got a ticket for 12 thousand, but we were not even able to see his face," a fan was quoted as saying by ANI.
"Absolutely terrible event. He came for just 10 minutes. All the leaders and ministers surrounded him. We couldn't see anything. He didn't take a single kick or a single penalty. They said they would bring Shah Rukh Khan too. They didn't bring anyone. He came for 10 minutes and left. So much money, emotions, and time wasted. We couldn't see anything," said another to the news agency.
WATCH | Angry fans vandalise Salt Lake Stadium as Lionel Messi leaves venue in 20 minutes
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was quick to issue an apology to fans after the much anticipated event turned sour. "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. I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident," Mamta Banerjee wrote on X.
"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. Once again, I extend my heartfelt apologies to all sports lovers," the CM added.
