GOAT India Tour 2025: Chaotic Scenes In Kolkata; Fans Express Outrage After Failing To See Messi
The Salt Lake City stadium in Kolkata witnessed chaotic scenes on Saturday as fans expressed displeasure over the mismanagement of the event.
Published : December 13, 2025 at 12:48 PM IST
Hyderabad: Argentine football star Lionel Messi’s visit to the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata witnessed chaotic scenes on Saturday. A huge number of fans flocked to the venue to catch a glimpse of the Argentine superstar, but they were soon expressing their displeasure over the mismanagement of the event in a few minutes.
Messi walked into the stadium, waved to the crowd, and a friendly match was played afterwards. But his stadium lap was cut short due to the tragic events which unfolded after that. The fans expressed their displeasure over the mismanagement of the event. The people who arrived at the stadium started booing the politicians and the management for the sequence of events. Also, a few bottles were thrown on the ground. Messi was cordoned off the security after the reaction from the fans.
Fans expressing displeasure
Fans started expressing their anger as some of them were not able to catch a glimpse of the star. Some of the audience even breached the barricades and threw water bottles onto the ground. Some of the fans resorted to vandalism at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
The fans expressed displeasure over the fact that Messi, who came into the stadium for just 10 minutes and all the ministers and leaders surrounded him. Also, he didn't take a single kick or penalty, and many of them were not able to catch a glimpse of Messi.
Fans, who paid the cost of Rs 4,500 and Rs 10,000 for tickets, damaged fibreglass seats, forcing the police to intervene.
“Here, a glass of cold drink costs Rs 150–200, yet we couldn’t even catch a glimpse of Messi. People have spent a month’s salary to see him. I paid Rs 5,000 for the ticket and came with my son to watch Messi, not politicians. The police and military personnel were taking selfies, and the management is to blame. There wasn’t even drinking water available,” an angry fan, Ajay Shah, told PTI.
#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal: A fan of star footballer Lionel Messi says, " the minimum price of the ticket was 5 thousand, and why were the vvips around messi? we couldn't even see him... why weren't the police taking action? i don't know anything. everyone was furious... we… https://t.co/Ce4kNu8dBH pic.twitter.com/HGG1OHSoo8
— ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2025
Another fan told ANI that Messi was surrounded by VVIPs.
"The minimum price of the ticket was 5 thousand, and why were the VVIPs around Messi? We couldn't even see him... Why weren't the police taking action? I don't know anything. Everyone was furious... We want the refund."
#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal: A fan of star footballer Lionel Messi says, " it is very disappointing that after paying such a hefty amount. they had 50 people around him, and we could not even get a glimpse of him for once... he just waved a couple of times, and that's it." https://t.co/Ce4kNu8dBH pic.twitter.com/GZmpkehdIX
— ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2025
Lionel Messi's achievements
The reason behind Messi's popularity is his achievements in the football world. He has won the UEFA Champions League title, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the FIFA World Cup. Also, he has won many international honours, including the Ballon d'Or and Best FIFA Men's Player. He was a mainstay in FC Barcelona for many years and is currently playing for Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer (MLS) in USA. Thanks to his achievements in the football world, he enjoys a huge fanbase across the globe, including India.
Messi's India tour
Messi is on a tour of four cities in India. He will visit Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi from December 13 to 15. After visiting the Salt Lake stadium, he will fly to Hyderabad and play a match involving Telangana CM Revanth Reddy.
