Lionel Messi’s tour of India got off to a chaotic start on Saturday as fans threw objects, tore chairs and invaded the pitch of Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium after the Argentine football great made only a brief appearance at a ticketed event.
Satadru Dutta, the main organizer of the event, has been detained by police, said Rajeev Kumar, director general of West Bengal Police.
Messi was scheduled to make a 45-minute visit to the stadium, but his appearance lasted only 20 minutes.
Tickets for the event cost about 3,500 rupees ($38.65) – more than half the average weekly income in India – but one fan said he paid $130.
Fans at the Salt Lake Stadium in the capital of the eastern state of West Bengal threw broken chairs and other objects onto the field, while several people climbed a fence surrounding the field and hurled objects.
“I can’t believe there was so much mismanagement,” said Eddie Lal Hmangaihzuala, who had traveled nearly 1,500 km from Mizoram in two days to attend the event.
“Messi left quickly, I think he felt unsafe. I barely caught a glimpse of him,” he told Reuters.
Tour organizers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We have already arrested the main organiser,” Rajeev Kumar told reporters. ‘We are taking action so that this mismanagement does not go unpunished.
“He has already committed in writing that the tickets sold for the event will be refunded,” he added.
