VIPs Surround Stars, Block View From Stands
KOLKATA: Frenzy at dawn. Fury by noon. Chaos by afternoon. Lionel Messi’s much-hyped Kolkata appearance collapsed into bedlam at Salt Lake stadium Saturday after tens of thousands of fans who paid steep prices for a glimpse of the football icon saw him for barely minutes – if at all – before he was whisked away, triggering vandalism, pitch invasion and mass outrage.Around 60,000 fans, many in Argentina’s blue-and-white stripes with “Messi” emblazoned on their backs, packed the stands from early morning. Tickets cost between Rs 5,000 and Rs 16,000. Expectations soared. Tempers snapped.Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain stepped onto the pitch at 11.30am to a deafening roar. Within moments, he was engulfed by a crush of VIPs, officials and selfie-seekers. Fifteen minutes later, with the crowd around him refusing to thin out, Messi and Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul were pulled out for security reasons. The stands never got their moment.On the way out, Messi was briefly introduced to former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, who had just arrived and taken a seat in a makeshift tent on the pitch. Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, scheduled to do a ceremonial lap with Messi, Suarez, De Paul and Ganguly, never entered the stadium. He waited outside, then left as the situation spiralled.When it became clear Messi would not return, the stadium exploded.
