Boos, chaos & heartbreak: What really led Lionel Messi to exit a Kolkata stadium within a few minutes?

Stepping into Kolkata's Yuva Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) on the morning of Saturday, December 13, 2025, felt like walking into a dream. Thousands of football fans had filled the stands to catch a glimpse of their idol, Lionel Messi in their own city, the Mecca of Indian football.

Crowds erupted with different chants every minute as spectators of all ages: from 7 to 70 were eagerly waiting for the arrival of the Greatest of All Time. Messi was not coming to play a match and fans did not mind. They willingly paid thousands just to breathe the same air as their favourite footballer for a few minutes.

The buildup to the arrival did not really keep the people engaged. Dance recitals, musical performances and even an exhibition match failed to draw enthusiasm. They were here for one thing, and one thing only: Lionel Messi.

Fans climbed fences, broke seats: All hell breaks loose upon Messi's early exit

The past few months, Messi fans in Kolkata had been eagerly awaiting December 13 for a historic event in India's sporting history. In fact, fans came in from neighbouring states and even countries to take a seat at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan to finally see Lionel Messi in flesh and bones.

A 20-minute match between Mohun Bagan and Diamond Harbour FC was on, when, after a long wait, a white car entered the tunnel of the stadium and the crowd went crazy: Lionel Messi was here! The whole stadium was on their toes, their hearts racing and phone cameras ready for what probably would be the greatest moment of their lives.

However, it was not meant to be. As Messi got down from his car, around 200 people including VIPs, politicians, celebrities and photographers surrounded the legendary footballer, completely blocking the fans' view.

It was clear that a host of unauthorised people had walked into the pitch to be near the player and they did not care if the people of the stands could see who they came for. Despite repeated requests by the organisers to vacate the pitch, no one moved and it seemed that the swarm of unauthorised people got bigger.

The crowd, so full of dreams and hope, was now beginning to get angry. They wanted to see their idol and waited for the crowd around him to disperse so that Lionel Messi, accompanied by Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suárez can take a lap of the stadium just like he was supposed to.

Cheers turned into boos as most of the fans still could not catch a glimpse of the footballer: something they had paid their hard-earned money for. Messi was visible only on the giant screens displayed around the stadium.

And then came the breaking point. Lionel Messi and his entourage left after barely 20 minutes. Fans didn't take it lightly. The booing turned violent as water bottles began to be thrown to towards the pitch and the hoardings were torn apart. Iron frames dangerously hung from the stands, threatening injury.

Soon after, extremely angry and hurt, many began to break the stadium bucket chairs and flung them into the air. The pitch side was full of chairs in no time. With the situation worsening every moment, some spectators tried to find their way out of the stadium, while some invaded the pitch.

Fans were angry. They were crying and shouting: some had sacrificed their vacations to be here for the event, while others had saved up bit by bit to buy the very expensive tickets with their entire salary. But they did not get what they came for.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was also supposed to be at the event, apologised to Messi on social media. Angry fans are now demanding refunds while the GOAT tour organiser Satadru Dutta remains in custody after being arrested the very day.

"Today is my wedding day, but I left all the ceremonies to be here just for Messi. Still, the management was so pathetic that I couldn’t even see him", said one fan to the media. "That’s a Messi situation", one fan commented on social media. "ABSOLUTE DISGRACE & A TOTAL SCAM", said another.

The day, otherwise meant to historic, turned into a black day for Indian football. Reports of Lionel Messi being frustrated with the crowd surrounding him is humiliating for Kolkata while the stadium fiasco made headlines all over the world. Messi's second leg of the tour in Hyderabad went smoothly, proving that with proper management and respect to the fans present, pulling off such an event is absolutely possible and Kolkata lacked both.

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