Image: IANS
KOLKATA: On a day Lionel Messi became the joint highest goal-scorer in World Cup history and scored his first World Cup hat-trick, Kolkata was reminded of the Salt Lake stadium fiasco, with the football legend’s chief adviser and consultant to last year’s GOAT India Tour reportedly emailing Bidhannagar police commissioner Wednesday, flagging former sports minister Aroop Biswas’s alleged interference and violation of security protocol that prompted Messi’s early exit.Reacting to the development, Kolkata police commissioner Ajay Nand, however, said: “Ye sab poochke mahaul kyun kharab karna. (Why spoil the atmosphere by asking all this?) We have no such reports. We need to check.” TOI tried to contact Bidhannagar CP Tripurari Atharv, but multiple calls and text messages went unanswered.According to sources, the official clarified in the letter that the approved protocol for Messi’s Dec 13 appearance at the Salt Lake stadium allowed no dignitaries on the field, while only three camera operators were to be present there.“But the protocol was disrupted when the then sports minister entered the field and became involved in activities that were not part of the scheduled programme. This included repeated unscheduled interactions and physical contact with Messi, including placing hands on his shoulder and around his waist for photographs,” the official reportedly stated. “These actions, together with the presence of several other unauthorised individuals and approximately 40 unaccredited photographers in restricted areas… and created concerns regarding Messi’s security… and made it impossible for him to interact with the individuals planned on the field,” he added.
