West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced an inquiry committee to look into the “unfortunate incident” at the stadium Chaos broke out at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday after thousands of fans began throwing chairs, breaking seats, and ripping down banners when they failed to get a glimpse of Argentine football icon Lionel Messi, who was on an India tour. Several videos showing the unrest among fans who had paid for tickets to attend the event continue to surface on social media. Industrialist Harsh Goenka commented on the backlash against the event’s organiser. Goenka questioned the presence of politicians around the GOAT football player . “Why are politicians surrounding Messi, while fans and fellow sportspersons watch from afar? Is it because stadiums, police, permissions and logistics are state-controlled? Probably yes. And that tells you everything about the state of sports in India,” he wrote on X. See the post here: Why are politicians surrounding Messi, while fans and fellow sportspersons watch from afar? Is it because stadiums, police, permissions and logistics are state-controlled? Probably yes. And that tells you everything about the state of sports in India. — Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) December 13, 2025 Goenka’s post quickly caught the internet’s attention, with several X users weighing in on the ongoing debate over the poor management of events in India. “I can understand politicians presence for photo op but actual player wearing sweat pants and the CM in shorts? Didn’t understand that part,” a user wrote. “It’s a wild mix of power and passion! Celebrating Messi is exciting, but it definitely highlights how much more we can do for sports in India,” another user commented. “When access is earned by office, not passion, sport quietly stops belonging to fans. The contrast says everything,” a third user reacted. Meanwhile, Shatadru Dutta, the organiser of Messi’s three-day GOAT India Tour 2025 across Kolkata , Hyderabad, Mumbai , and Delhi , was arrested after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced an inquiry committee to look into the “unfortunate incident” at the stadium, saying she was “deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed” at the venue.
IndiaIndia
‘Why are politicians surrounding Messi?’: Harsh Goenka’s strong reaction after chaos at Kolkata Stadium
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