Peaceful Finish to Lionel Messi's Visit to India Following Kolkata Chaos
Football superstar Lionel Messi has finished his three-day India tour in pollution-choked Delhi, in the wake of a disorderly opening in Kolkata.
On Monday, a multitude of fans congregated in a Delhi stadium to see the Argentina and Inter Miami forward.
As Messi, alongside Inter Miami teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, walked onto the pitch – kicking balls into the stands, playing with a group of children, and signing autographs – the crowd shouted his name.
His plane from Mumbai had been held up due to fog, local media stated, and his schedule had to be trimmed. On Saturday, angry fans vandalised a Kolkata stadium because they were unable to view him during his appearance there.
A Busy Schedule Across Several Metropolises
Messi had a busy schedule in India, attending a string of marketing events in Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai since landing in the wee hours of Saturday.
Before making his way to Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium later that day, he remotely revealed a massive statue of himself, built over 27 days by a 45-person crew in the city in eastern India.
Chaotic Beginning in Football-Loving Kolkata
The tour, however, began with a disastrous start after disappointed fans destroyed seats and threw items towards the pitch at the stadium.
Football is immensely popular in West Bengal state – of which Kolkata is the capital – and thousands of ardent supporters had paid up to 12,000 rupees to be at the event.
However, most of them didn't even get to see him as he was accompanied by officials and celebrities on his brief walk around the stadium and then rapidly taken away as the situation turned hostile.
"Poor management of a highly anticipated event, lack of co-ordination" and security lapses turned the stadium into a "scene of chaos", as fans – denied even a glimpse of Messi – "expressed their fury by indulging in violence."
The ruckus, which made international headlines, overshadowed Messi's first visit to India since 2011 for what has been termed a 'GOAT [greatest of all time] tour'.
The organizer in Kolkata has been detained, police said, and a city court has remanded Satadru Dutta to 14 days in detention.
Peaceful Visits in Other Cities
Messi's events in Hyderabad and Mumbai went off without a hitch, with fans expressing their joy at seeing the international legend on social media and in press interactions.
Messi also had meetings with several political figures and celebrities – film actor Shah Rukh Khan in Kolkata, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in Hyderabad, and sporting icon Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai.
In between these meetings, Messi could be seen acknowledging large fan gatherings in stadiums and playing football with groups of children.
There were rumors earlier that Messi would have a meeting with Narendra Modi in Delhi, but the Indian prime minister traveled abroad on Monday morning on a scheduled visit to Jordan, Ethiopia, and Oman.
The Reason of His Great Fame in India
Messi's appeal is due to more than his long international career and wide TV coverage of European football – he's the record scorer for Barcelona – but also the strong affinity that a huge number of Indians have with what is often called the beautiful game.