‘Messi’s Mess’ in Kolkata: Global Media Highlight Angry Fans, Chaotic Scenes and Organiser Detained After ‘Deeply Disturbing’ Event

New Delhi: Argentina football legend Lionel Messi's Kolkata leg of the G.O.A.T. India Tour turned chaotic on Saturday as fans who reportedly paid high ticket prices to attend the event at the city's Salt Lake Stadium resorted to rip off seats and throw bottles towards the pitch. The angry football enthusiasts were left disappointed since they could not catch a proper glimpse of their idol as he was obscured by a large group of government officials, leaders and celebrities. 

While the Indian media has largely focused on the mismanagement of the event in Kolkata, the enormously high ticket prices and have questioned the ruling government, Republic takes a closer look at how the global media giants have covered this national embarrassment.

BBC Sticks To Messi Spokesperson, Mamata  

British broadcasting giant BBC mentioned the steep ticket prices paid by the fans, and how much time Messi spent on the pitch. From the organizer's point, it stuck to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's public apology on X and from the Argentine footballer's side, it stuck to a spokesperson who mentioned that he had fulfilled his time commitments. It cited an AFP report, to state that the chief organiser has been arrested, why Messi had come to Kolkata, the statue unveiling on Saturday morning and a fan's reaction. The story was titled, “Angry fans throw chairs and bottles at Messi event in India”.

Al Jazeera Explains India's Deep Connect With Football

Al Jazeera, one of the most popular and independent news channel from the Arab world, took help of a national daily to describe the events that unfolded in Kolkata. It stated that tickets were priced from about Rs 3,500 rupees, and went deeper to state that it was more than “half of the average weekly income in India.” It stated Messi’s scheduled 45-minute visit lasted only 20 minutes. Sticking to only the Chief Minister's apology for a reaction into the incident from the management's side, it reported that the “organisers of the tour did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.”

Explaining India's deep connect with football, Al Jazeera cited Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter who described had once described India as a “sleeping giant” in the world of football. It went on to highlight the state of the India’s top football competition, the Indian Super League, including the challenges it face.

Reuters Cites Earlier Cases Of Fan Violence At Salt Lake Stadium

British news agency Reuters quotes the West Bengal Director General of Police about the ticket refunds and quotes a fan who had travelled all the way from Mizoram to attend the event. It mentioned that how states like West Bengal, Goa and Kerala have had a large number of football fans for a long time. This is despite the almost-uniform craze of cricket in the county, the report mentioned. 

The report also stated that incidents of fan riots at Salt Lake stadium are not new. In 2012, during a Kolkata derby match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, a brick was thrown from the stands which hit a player.

Pointing towards Kolkata's deep connect with Argentina's football greats, it stated that Diego Maradona had visited the City of Joy twice and quite like Messi on Saturday, he had also unveiled a statue of himself holding the World Cup in 2017.

Athletic Gives More Local Inputs 

The Athletic from New York Times cited reports from news agency ANI to describe some footages from the scene and also delve into diverse reactions from various personalities like the director general of West Bengal police Rajeev Kumar and the Governor of West Bengal, C. V. Ananda Bose. It also cited a statement from the All India Football Federation about the event which said that it was a private event organised by a PR agency. It also quoted West Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas's statement to the local media.

Focusing on Messi's Hyderabad leg of the tour, it also cited Hyderabad police commissioner Sudheer Babu's statement to an Indian media outlet about its preparedness for the event. The story was titled, “Lionel Messi’s India tour organiser ‘detained’, say police, after ‘deeply disturbing’ chaos.”

Associated Press Writes Short Report

The Associated Press wrote a rather short report, sticking only to the most basic facts, citing details from an Indian daily. It did not cite the exorbitant ticket prices and only stated the Chief Minister's public apology. The report also had very little background information about Messi's three-day “GOAT India Tour” and only gave a slight mention of Messi's unveiling of his statue earlier on Saturday. 

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