Organizer arrested after followers rip up seats, throw objects throughout Lionel Messi go to to India

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Lionel Messi's tour of India kicked off chaotically on Saturday as followers threw objects, ripped up seats and invaded the pitch at Kolkata's Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, often known as Salt Lake Stadium, after the Argentine soccer nice made solely a short look at a ticketed occasion.

Satadru Dutta, the occasion's chief organizer, has been detained by police, mentioned Rajeev Kumar, director normal of West Bengal police.

Messi was scheduled for a 45-minute go to to the stadium, however his look lasted simply 20 minutes. Tickets for the occasion have been priced from about 3,500 rupees ($53.44 Cdn) — greater than half of the typical weekly revenue in India — however one fan mentioned he had paid $130 US ($180 Cdn).

<img loading="lazy" alt="Broken chairs tossed around soccer field, with a man ducking from others being thrown" srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9dfd424e-52e2-4013-b1d1-c5848f4bea6c,1765634182839/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5500%2C3709%29%3BResize%3D805 805w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9dfd424e-52e2-4013-b1d1-c5848f4bea6c,1765634182839/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5500%2C3709%29%3BResize%3D1104 1104w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9dfd424e-52e2-4013-b1d1-c5848f4bea6c,1765634182839/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5500%2C3709%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) 93.6vw,730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9dfd424e-52e2-4013-b1d1-c5848f4bea6c,1765634182839/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5500%2C3709%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.4828794823402534" data-cy="image-img"/> A person geese to guard himself as followers throw chairs after Messi leaves Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan, often known as Salt Lake Stadium, in Kolkata on Saturday. (Sahiba Chawdhary/Reuters) Followers within the stadium, situated within the capital of the jap state of West Bengal, threw ripped-up seats and different objects onto the sphere, whereas a number of folks climbed a fence across the area and hurled objects.

"I can not consider there was a lot mismanagement," mentioned Eddie Lal Hmangaihzuala, who had travelled practically 1,500 kilometres from Mizoram over two days to attend the occasion.

"Messi left rapidly, I believe he felt unsafe. I hardly obtained a glimpse of him," he informed Reuters.

<img loading="lazy" alt="Wide shot of soccer pitch with ripped off seat strewn across it. " srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9b1eaa7e-4723-461e-9a1a-e090350c5133,1765634378893/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C4990%2C3220%29%3BResize%3D805 805w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9b1eaa7e-4723-461e-9a1a-e090350c5133,1765634378893/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C4990%2C3220%29%3BResize%3D1104 1104w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9b1eaa7e-4723-461e-9a1a-e090350c5133,1765634378893/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C4990%2C3220%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) 93.6vw,730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9b1eaa7e-4723-461e-9a1a-e090350c5133,1765634378893/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C4990%2C3220%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.549689440993789" data-cy="image-img"/> A view of the stadium with damaged chairs strewn throughout the pitch. (Sahiba Chawdhary/Reuters) The organizers of the tour didn't instantly reply to a request for a remark.

"We have already detained the primary organizer," Kumar, of West Bengal police, informed reporters. "We're taking motion in order that this mismanagement doesn't go unpunished."

He added, "He has already pledged in writing that tickets offered for the occasion ought to be refunded."

Chief minister apologizes to Messi Messi is in India as a part of a tour throughout which he's scheduled to attend live shows, youth soccer clinics and a padel match, and to launch charitable initiatives at occasions in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.

The chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, apologized to Messi and ordered a probe into the incident.

"I'm deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed immediately at Salt Lake stadium," Banerjee, who was on her method to the occasion when chaos broke out, posted on social media platform X.

"I sincerely apologize to Lionel Messi, in addition to to all sports activities lovers and his followers, for the unlucky incident," she mentioned.

Banerjee mentioned she was constituting a committee to conduct an in depth inquiry into the incident, assign duty and suggest measures to stop such occurrences sooner or later.

West Bengal, Kerala and Goa states have lengthy had giant soccer followings in in any other case cricket-crazed India.

<img loading="lazy" alt="Group of men wearing Argentina jerseys stand together in a group and cheer" srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f96ca400-e864-43b1-bb97-d784ee15160e,1765634540588/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C7186%2C4850%29%3BResize%3D805 805w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f96ca400-e864-43b1-bb97-d784ee15160e,1765634540588/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C7186%2C4850%29%3BResize%3D1104 1104w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f96ca400-e864-43b1-bb97-d784ee15160e,1765634540588/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C7186%2C4850%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) 93.6vw,730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f96ca400-e864-43b1-bb97-d784ee15160e,1765634540588/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C7186%2C4850%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.4816494845360826" data-cy="image-img"/> Followers are proven on the pitch after Messi left the stadium, in Kolkata on Saturday. (Sahiba Chawdhary/Reuters) A number of incidents of fan riots have taken place at Salt Lake Stadium, together with throughout a Kolkata derby match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in 2012, which was deserted after a brick thrown from the stands severely injured a participant.

Argentine soccer nice Diego Maradona twice visited Kolkata, and in 2017 he unveiled a statue there of himself holding the World Cup within the presence of 1000's of followers.

Messi, who captained Argentina for the primary time in a pleasant match at Salt Lake Stadium in a 1-0 win over Venezuela in 2011, just about unveiled a 70-foot-tall statue of himself in Kolkata earlier on Saturday.