Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium descended into chaos on Saturday (December 13) after football icon Lionel Messi, who was scheduled to meet fans, left the venue earlier than expected. The abrupt exit left many
attendees frustrated and disappointed, especially those who had paid hefty sums for tickets in hopes of seeing the star footballer in person.As tensions flared, fans were seen hurling bottles, dragging sofas, dismantling tents, and vandalising parts of the stadium. One particularly striking incident showed a man walking away with a rolled-up turf carpet from the venue, claiming it as a form of protest after spending Rs 10,000 on a ticket.Following the carpet incident, another video surfaced online showing a different man removing flower pots from the stadium. Wearing a Messi jersey, he was seen carrying two flower pots and saying, “Will gift them to my wife.”
In the earlier carpet-related video, the man carrying the turf was heard saying,
“I paid Rs 10,000 for a ticket. I couldn't see Messi. We could only see the politicians that we anyway see around the year. I am taking this with me, we'll practice (football) at home on it.”
A day after chaos erupted at Salt Lake Stadium during the opening leg of Lionel Messi’s
‘GOAT Tour 2025’, social media remained flooded with posts from disappointed fans. Several attendees recounted spending thousands—and in some cases even lakhs—on tickets, only to return home without seeing the football legend.Messi later continued his tour at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, where the event unfolded in a noticeably calmer and more organised manner. Clips from the venue showed Messi at ease on the pitch, exchanging passes with teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, while Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also made an appearance. Soon, netizens began drawing comparisons between the two events, with many applauding the better planning and execution of the Hyderabad stop.
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