Fans in India finally got to have a good look at Lionel Messi in the second leg of his GOAT Tour of India as the Argentina football great’s event at the Uppal Stadium in Hyderabad went without incident, in stark contrast to what was the case earlier on Saturday in Kolkata. Messi, along with his teammates and friends, Uruguay superstar Luis Suarez and Argentina’s Rodrigo de Paul, spent over an hour in the middle, playing kickabouts with children and walking around the stadium. They also kicked footballs into the crowd for people to carry home as souvenirs.
The scenes that were broadcast and streamed across the country on Saturday evening was in stark contrast to what happened in the morning in Kolkata, where the first leg of the Argentina captain’s tour of India descended into chaos. Messi arrived in Hyderabad around 5:40pm and was received at the Taj Falaknuma Palace by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
Sporting a green colour crew neck half sleeve T-shirt, a black pant and a pair of sport shoes, the World Cup-winning Argentine captain entered the stadium to a deafening cheer of the crowd. Messi, Suarez and de Paul took part in a GOAT Cup penalty shootout, with Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also turning up in football attires, and conducted football clinics with children.
Lionel Messi addressing the crowd as his Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez, Rodrigo de Paul, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy look on. (PTI Photo)
He was also then seen interacting with senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi before adressing the crowd. “I am very happy to be in Hyderabad in the midst of all the love and affection shown by you all,” Messi said through a translator. presented a memento to Messi while Gandhi gave one to Saurez.
Messi presented the GOAT Cup to the winning team of a 7-a-side exhibition match, Singareni RR 9, which was representing Reddy.
Chaos in Kolkata
Earlier, the opening leg of the tour ended with Messi’s security team whisking him out of the Salt Lake Stadium after he had spent just over 20 minutes there. Tour organiser Satadru Dutta was eventually arrested from the Kolkata airport.
As soon as Messi entered the ground, he was surrounded by a human barricade of security as well as a lot of other people. Even on repeated requests, the field was not cleared and the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner, who was waving at the fans, ultimately had to be escorted out at around 11.53 AM.
Story continues below this ad
Chaos ensued as soon as Messi exited the field. Fans who had paid tickets ranging between Rs 3.8k to Rs 11,800, raised loud jeers and then the situation turned worse. The fans then started to throw chairs as well as bottles into the ground while thousands invaded the ground. There was also a small fire when a VIP seat on the field was set blaze but it was immediately doused before any damage.
Even the organizers’ boards bearing Messi’s photo lay buried under a pile of chairs, a stark reminder of the uglier side of fans’ emotions.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
