Messi fans received nothing but disappointment on December 13 at Yuva Bharati Krirarangan. Fans waited for hours and witnessed complete chaos after buying tickets worth thousands of rupees, only to not see Messi. Yet just a few hours later, the entire event was completed smoothly in Hyderabad. Throwing balls to supporters in the gallery, showing skills, penalty shootout - Messi did everything with a smile. This made Kolkata's mismanagement even more glaring. Now, former Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia has criticised the Kolkata chaos.
Bhaichung said that it was unfortunate that nearly 80,000 spectators present at the stadium could not see Messi.
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What did Bhaichung say more?
Bhaichung told ANI, "I think it's very unfortunate. I think organisers did their best, but it is very difficult for even organisers to stop a lot of 'extra' VIPs who are not supposed to be there. The genuine fans did not get to see Messi. That is where the fans got very upset."
He added, "The government has taken some steps and action. My only suggestion is that events like this have to be very well organised in the future. A lot of 'unwanted' VIPs surrounded Messi. I think this should be avoided."
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One of the purposes of bringing Messi was to increase the enthusiasm surrounding football in the country. Instead, India's football infrastructure and management failures became even more evident. Bhaichung also stated that the future of football in India is currently poor. Sports are the biggest medium for connecting with the younger generation. However, he said that even after bringing Messi, such incidents made the situation worse.
