On Saturday, Kolkata was preparing for history; a long wait was coming to an end, as a large number of fans waited to see the legend of Argentina. However, the fans came back home with broken hearts.
Messi landed in Kolkata at midnight, and fans were waiting to greet him. It looks like the Mecca of Indian football is really celebrating one another's festival, as the dark, cold night in Kolkata experienced a sea of crowds; drums sounded as fans breathed the same air as Messi.
Night ends, and excitement starts to grow among the fans; a gathering starts before the scheduled time. Fans were eagerly waiting for this day, savings of months, journeys of days, everything was worth the wait. But things fell apart, and dreams were shattered when fans were unable to experience the dream-come-true moment as Messi barely stayed on the ground for more than five minutes.
After that, things went out of hand, and fans started screaming “shame shame”. Just a minute later, fans started to run towards the ground and disrupted everything.
Experience of the fans
Fans gathered to see the boy from Rosario, hoping that Messi would have a great time in the city of football. The unmatched energy and wild celebrations made it clear to Messi just how much he means to his fans. Before arriving at the stadium, Messi unveiled a 70-foot statue of himself, which is one of the largest in the world. Messi seemed to be having a great time in Kolkata as he took a moment to welcome all the dignitaries in the middle of the field, autograph some jerseys, and wave to the audience. but all of the vents wrapped up fast, and the fans were barely able to see Messi. After that, the chaos broke out.
Dyuti Ghosh, a PhD scholar of Jadavpur University and also a Messi fan, who went to experience the moment, came back home in disgrace. Said, “I came expecting to watch Messi take penalty shootouts and to get a proper glimpse of the GOAT. I bought jerseys and banners just for this moment. The entry through the gates was smooth, and the police did their duty well, but the event organisers were completely clueless. The event promised multiple programmes involving Messi, yet none of those expectations were met. He remained surrounded only by organisers, leaving spectators without even a clear view. That disappointment is what ultimately turned excitement into outrage.”
A student who lives in a hostel for his studies had been saving money for a long time to attend this event. He shared that the ticket cost nearly ₹4,000, and he had to cut down on personal expenses and even receive some help from his parents to save enough. It took him several months to gather the required amount. He expressed his deep disappointment, saying that the event management could have been much better. Messi was on the field for only five to seven minutes, and even then, he was surrounded by officials. Understandably, people are angry, as they invested so much time, effort, and money just to see Messi.
Kashyapeya Aich, who travelled 215 km to see his favourite, also expressed his disgust and said, “I travelled by train that was already running five hours late and stayed at a relative’s house because all the guest houses were booked. We arrived in the morning and saw fans from Nepal, Bhutan, and the Northeast as well. People had come from everywhere, yet no one could really see Messi as he was surrounded by politicians and the media. We were promised that he would stay for one hour, that Shah Rukh Khan and Sourav Ganguly would felicitate him, and that he would play with kids. None of it happened. Even necessities were exploited; water bottles were being sold for ₹150. What was promised and what was delivered were worlds apart.”
Vidyasagar Sao, the secretary of the Birbhum District sports association, expressed his disgust at the management, saying, ” When a management is done by others without taking help from the respected associations, these things can happen, and the management has to take responsibility for that. Fans who came from far away are also humiliated by them.”
Talking about the non-football event, he added, “Fans should get an opportunity to experience his football, and if it had become a reality, then it would make fans happier, and it would also inspire the upcoming generation to play football.”
Authorities' response to the mismanagement
The West Bengal Police Director General Rajeev Kumar told the press that the core organiser of the event, Satadru Dutta, has been detained by the Police authorities. The police authorities have stated, "Going forward, we will be taking steps accordingly as the FIR or complaints will be filed."
The authorities have also added, "The first stage would be, as said earlier, law and order; peace has to be restored immediately, and that has been taken care of. There are no more gatherings left, be it in the streets or in the stadium grounds. Traffic is normal. People have all gone back home. No major incident of injury has been reported."
Messi is now on his way to Hyderabad.
