Messi in Kolkata: From Football Fever to Political Firestorm

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What was meant to be a historic celebration of Indian football spiralled into chaos at Salt Lake Stadium—raising hard questions about governance, VIP culture, and event management.

TRH EDITORIAL

New Delhi, December 13, 2025 — What should have been a dream moment for Indian football and Kolkata’s fiercely loyal fans instead became a national embarrassment. Lionel Messi’s much-hyped Kolkata appearance during the G.O.A.T. Tour of India 2025 collapsed into confusion, anger, and political recrimination—exposing a familiar Indian malaise: grand optics, poor planning, and a deep disconnect between power and the public.

According to The Statesman, Messi landed in Kolkata in the early hours, unveiled a statue virtually, posed for photographs with celebrities and industrialists, and then headed to Salt Lake’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) Stadium. What followed was not a celebration but a slow-burning provocation. Thousands of fans who paid premium prices expected at least a symbolic footballing moment—an interaction, a kick, a lap of honour. Instead, Messi’s two-hour schedule ended in a fleeting 20-minute, tightly guarded appearance dominated by VIPs and politicians.

The sense of betrayal was palpable. Chairs were ripped out, bottles flew, barricades broke. Fans felt cheated—not by Messi, but by organisers who failed to communicate the limited nature of his role. As police later acknowledged, unrealistic expectations and poor crowd management lit the fuse.

The political fallout was swift. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee apologised publicly and ordered a probe, while the police registered an FIR and arrested the chief organiser. The Governor called it a “dark day” for Kolkata’s sporting culture. The Opposition framed it as a textbook case of VIP excess and administrative failure. What was once football now became politics by other means.

This episode reveals something deeper than mismanagement. It exposes how mega-events in India are still designed around power, not people. Fans were spectators to a spectacle meant for ministers, celebrities, and photo-ops. Safety concerns were cited—but safety cannot be an afterthought used to justify opacity.

As attention shifts to Messi’s Hyderabad leg, the lesson is stark. Global icons do not fail events—systems do. If India wants to host world-class sporting moments, it must first learn to respect its own crowds.

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