Lionel Messi India tour LIVE: Organiser detained, fans to get refund after Kolkata chaos

The Messi tour has not started on a great note, but maybe normalcy will be restored and the rest of the tour in other three cities will go smoothly. It will be a learning for the other three venues as well

Kolkata, West Bengal: BJP MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato says, “It is very unfortunate. Nothing was managed properly in West Bengal. The administration failed to maintain order, which led to this chaos. People from not only all over West Bengal but also from outside the state had come… pic.twitter.com/aZb71knwHo

— IANS (@ians_india) December 13, 2025

“We have already detained the main organiser. And we will make sure the tickets are refunded to fans,” West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar.

After his brief 20-minute appearance at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata, Lionel Messi has already departed for Hyderabad. He will have a five-minute exhibition appearance at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium with CM Revanth Reddy. The GOAT is also scheduled to meet LoP Rahul Gandhi in the city.

Watch again, what had exactly happened

Kolkata, West Bengal: Angry fans vandalise the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, alleging poor management of the event

A fan of star footballer Lionel Messi said, "Absolutely terrible event. He came for just 10 minutes. All the leaders and ministers surrounded him. We couldn't see… pic.twitter.com/a3RsbEFmTi

— ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2025

Should the fans be blamed for what has transpired on the staidum today? Or is it the organisers? It is such a pity that such a mess was created. Not a great advertisement for future events in the country.

You don't want to be in Kolkata right now. The entire city is angry on the mismanagement during Messi's visit at the Salt Lake Stadium. In an attempt to protest against the wrongdoing, fans are now treated with Lathicharge. Utter chaos in the City of Joy. 

Lathicharge on fans who were protesting against the mismanagement during Messi’s GOAT tour in Kolkata. pic.twitter.com/GYkaWnbG4G

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 13, 2025

In a new development, Congress and current opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to meet Lionel Messi in his Hyderabad leg, where he arrives anytime in the afternoon today. In Hyderabad, Messi is also supposed to play a friendly against Telangana CM Revanath Reddy, considering no chaos breaks at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium!

Angry fans, who were deprived of a single glimpse of Lionel Messi, has now flocked in large numbers outside the hotel where he is staying alongside the likes of Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suarez. 

Kolkata, West Bengal: Police personnel use mild force to disperse the crowd that had gathered outside the hotel where star footballer Lionel Messi was staying

Angry fans today vandalised the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, alleging poor management of the event.… pic.twitter.com/HrOWHs3lVb

— La pulga (@Vishnureddiii) December 13, 2025

While fans didn't get to witness a glimpse of Lionel Messi even after spending so much money, there were a huge number of people on the field. Why is that? Minister-in-Charge for Youth Services and Sports in West Bengal, Aroop Biswas, was seen revolving around Messi even when some bodyguards tried to make space for the Argentinian star. Many people tried to hover around Messi, creating chaos. 

"I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake Stadium. I was on my way to the stadium to attend the event along with thousands of sports lovers and fans who had gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite footballer, Lionel Messi," wrote West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after even she missed meeting Messi on his GOAT tour. 

She promises fans that a special committee will be formed to look into the incident and take up the accountability. 

"I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident. I am constituting an enquiry committee under the chairmanship of Justice (Retd.) Ashim Kumar Ray, with the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs Department, as members. The committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future. Once again, I extend my heartfelt apologies to all sports lovers."

Fans have been scammed! Tickets worth crores of rupees were wasted. Almost 100,000 fans quenched their thirst in order to get a glimpse of Lionel Messi. But the politicians and bureaucrats alongside their families caused chaos and Messi had to leave the stadium without performing anything for fans. The security and setup was awful, and as a result, fans now show their anger. 

Shocking beyond belief to see what’s happened at the Messi event in Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium. This is what happens when organisers try to swarm the star attraction with VIPs and friends. People who paid didn’t even catch a glimpse of Messi and just thank god the mess didn’t… pic.twitter.com/gAfcfx1WC6

— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) December 13, 2025

Lionel Messi was supposed to play some football. A felicitation ceremony was planned as well. But guess what? Due to utter chaos at the Salt Lake Stadium, fans, who bought the tickets for hefty prices, didn't get to witness anything. 

A fan of star footballer Lionel Messi says, "... Seeing the utter chaos, the management, the authorities, it was absolutely rubbish. All the people you see here love football. We all wanted to see Messi, but it was a total scam. We want our money back... The management was so bad. It is a black day for Kolkata. Kolkata is known for football, and we love football, and we love Argentina, but this experience is absolutely a scam. The ministers were there with their children, and the other people could not see anything... We are very hurt. This is absolutely not done."

Earlier in the day, Lionel Messi's day started with a VIP meet-and-greet between 9:30 and 10:30 AM, where selected guests and dignitaries will get photographs, autographs and brief interactions with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner at a private venue. One major name who had an interaction with Messi was none other than Shah Rukh Khan, who has a crazy fan following across the globe. The stars truly aligned ⭐

Lionel Messi, who was set to enthral more than 85,000 fans at the Salt Lake Stadium, left the ground within 22 minutes. Apparently, the security on the field weren't able to control fans as Messi was hovered and circled by hundreds of people. As a result, Messi's team called off the event and quickly moved to safety. 
This left fans at the stadium in Kolkata utterly disappointed, with some of them pelting chairs and hoarding to show their anger. One fan even claimed that there was no point of calling fans as they couldn't get a glimpse of the star footballer. 

#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal: Angry fans threw bottles and chairs from the stands at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium

Star footballer Lionel Messi has left the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/mcxi6YROyr

— ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2025

People in India may worship cricket but the popularity of football isn't a step behind, with the entire nation on its feet during Lionel Messi's arrival. The Argentina legend has returned to India after 14 years and an entire tour beckons, covering four metro cities and meeting with huge names.