Satadru Dutta, the organizer of the Lionel Messi India GOAT Tour, said that political interference, security failures and administrative lapses had led to the fiasco at the Salt Lake Stadium during the event last year. Dutta, who was jailed after the event went haywire where thousands of supporters invaded the pitch after Messi left the stadium after just over 20 minutes, said that he was made the scapegoat. “Everything from our side was meticulously planned. We had 16-20 meetings with police and security officials. But when I entered the ground with Messi, I saw hundreds of unauthorised people crowding inside (the ground) with or without accreditation cards,” Dutta told PTI. “The pressure began over issuing additional accreditation cards. We refused because the number of people to be given access to the ground and other issues had already been finalised with the police. But unauthorised people continued to enter (the ground),” Dutta said. The fans had waited patiently when Messi, with his two mates from US club Inter Miami – Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul – was surrounded by the dignitaries. Bengal’s then Sports and Youth Affairs minister Aroop Biswas would pose with him for pictures. Mohun Bagan’s president, Debasis Dutta, and secretary, Srinjoy Bose, would present him their club’s famous maroon-green jersey. Also Read | ‘Waste of time & money’: How VIPs hijacked Messi event in Kolkata, leaving fans fuming According to Satadru, Messi’s security developed cold feet after several people surrounded the football star for selfies and got perilously close to the football superstar. He claimed that when a person touched Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul for taking a selfie, that was the last straw as “Messi and his entire entourage became jittery.” “They then decided to leave the ground,” he said. Fans paid tickets ranging from the highest of Rs 12,000 to about Rs 3 lakh in black. Once the fans realised that Messi wouldn’t even kick the ball anywhere close to them, all hell broke loose. It started with boos, followed by water bottles flying on the turf and bucket seats stripped from the concrete hauled over the fence. “However, those actually responsible, most notably the Sports minister, were never questioned,” he said. “I was framed while others were shielded,” Dutta alleged. “We had held 16-20 meetings with police officials and administration, and they had complete knowledge of everything. The Sports minister used his clout and was not leaving Messi for a moment on the ground. He failed to differentiate between a private event and a public event,” Dutta said. “Even when I requested the then DGP and CP to stop people getting so close to the football stars, they could not forbid the minister properly,” he said. Story continues below this ad Stating the discomfiture of Messi and his entourage started when they were followed on the ground by so many people trying to clutch them, hold their hands for a selfie, he said. “In Latin America, you can’t touch anyone on shoulder or waist, and he will get upset. As the same treatment was meted out to Messi, he felt upset as he doesn’t want a claustrophobic environment,” Dutta said.
‘I was framed while others were shielded’: Lionel Messi GOAT Tour India organizer Satadru Dutta on Kolkata fiasco
