Smooth Finish to Lionel Messi's India Tour Following Unrest in Kolkata
Global football icon Lionel Messi has concluded his multi-day India tour in pollution-choked Delhi, after a turbulent opening in Kolkata.
On Monday, countless fans gathered in a Delhi stadium to catch a sight of the Argentinian and Inter Miami forward.
As Messi, accompanied by Inter Miami team-mates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, walked onto the pitch – kicking balls into the stands, playing with a group of children, and giving signatures – the crowd chanted his name.
His plane from Mumbai had been postponed due to fog, local media stated, and his schedule had to be shortened. On Saturday, disappointed fans vandalised a Kolkata stadium because they failed to see him during his event there.
A Packed Schedule Spanning Multiple Cities
Messi had a hectic schedule in India, taking part in a string of promotional events in Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai since landing in the early hours of Saturday.
Before traveling to Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium later that day, he remotely unveiled a massive statue of himself, built over 27 days by a 45-strong crew in the city in eastern India.
Disastrous Start in Football-Loving Kolkata
The tour, however, got off to a chaotic start after angry fans destroyed seats and threw items towards the pitch at the stadium.
Football is immensely popular in West Bengal state – of which Kolkata is the capital – and countless ardent supporters had forked out up to 12,000 rupees to attend the event.
However, most of them were unable to catch a glimpse of him as he was accompanied by officials and celebrities on his quick walk around the stadium and then rapidly taken away as the situation turned hostile.
"Poor management of a much-publicized event, poor coordination" and security lapses turned the stadium into a "scene of chaos", as fans – prevented from seeing of Messi – "expressed their fury by resorting to violence."
The unrest, which grabbed international headlines, overshadowed Messi's first visit to India since 2011 for what has been dubbed a 'GOAT [greatest of all time] tour'.
The organizer in Kolkata has been arrested, police said, and a city court has ordered Satadru Dutta to 14 days in police custody.
Successful Engagements in Other Cities
Messi's visits to Hyderabad and Mumbai went off without a hitch, with fans expressing their joy at seeing the global icon on social media and in media interviews.
Messi also had meetings with several political figures and celebrities – Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan in Kolkata, political figure Rahul Gandhi in Hyderabad, and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai.
In between these interactions, Messi could be seen waving to large fan assemblies in stadiums and dribbling the ball with groups of children.
There were rumors earlier that Messi would meet Narendra Modi in Delhi, but the Indian prime minister traveled abroad on Monday morning on a planned visit to Jordan, Ethiopia, and Oman.
The Source of His Vast Popularity in India
Messi's popularity comes not only from his lengthy international career and broad TV coverage of European football – he's the record scorer for Barcelona – but also the emotional connection that countless Indians have with what is often known as the beautiful game.
