{"id":346923,"date":"2025-12-14T06:16:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T06:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/346923\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T06:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T06:16:11","slug":"indian-fans-riot-as-lionel-messi-cuts-appearance-short-due-to-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/346923\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian fans riot as Lionel Messi cuts appearance short due to violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lionel Messi<\/a>‘s tour of India has not kicked off smoothy, with fans invading and destroying the pitch at Salt Lake Stadium due to his brief appearance on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Messi was scheduled to make a 45-minute appearance as part of his ‘GOAT Tour<\/a>‘ at the stadium in Kolkata, but instead his time in the spotlight was reduced to just 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

However, it was the fact that fans, who had paid upwards of $58 AUD to attend the event, could barely see the Argentinian that truly ignited the chaos in the stands. <\/p>\n

READ MORE: NFL superstar denies heated clash with Aussie amid criticism<\/a><\/p>\n

FOLLOW LIVE: John Cena’s WWE retirement match<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: Chelsea coach’s cryptic message after ‘worst 48 hours’<\/a><\/p>\n

Messi took to the field after unveiling a 21-metre stature of him holding the World Cup – the largest reported statue of any footballer in history.<\/p>\n

\"Argentina<\/p>\n

Argentina soccer icon Messi waves his hand.\u00a0NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The 38-year-old was followed by his teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, however, the trio could not be seen due to the large entourage around them.<\/p>\n

The trio did not complete a full lap of the stadium before they left the field, despite event organisers declaring that Messi would be playing in a short exhibition match followed by a penalty shootout.<\/p>\n

Those events never unfolded at Salt Lake Stadium, sparking violent scenes around the ground.<\/p>\n

Some fans were seen throwing objects at the turf, while others resorted to damaging all objects within their path.<\/p>\n

\"Angry<\/p>\n

Angry fans vandalise banners, throw bottles, ripped up seats and threw them on the pitch after Argentina football star Lionel Messi’s early departure.\u00a0Hindustan Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Footage has emerged across social media of fans breaking chairs, tents and climbing over railings that separated them from making their way onto the pitch. <\/p>\n

One fan who was in attendance at the event told ANI news agency that Messi was simply surrounded by actors, politicians and leaders, much to the discontent of fans.<\/p>\n

The fan also confirmed that he paid over 12,000 rupees (around $130 AUD) for his ticket.<\/p>\n

“Messi left quickly. I think he felt unsafe,” another fan told Reuters.<\/p>\n

\"Angry<\/p>\n

Angry fans vandalise banners, throw bottles, ripped up seats and threw them on the pitch after Argentina football star Lionel Messi’s early departure.\u00a0Hindustan Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n

“I hardly got a glimpse of him. I can’t believe there was so much mismanagement.”<\/p>\n

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee apologised to Messi for the scenes that unfolded at the stadium before ensuring fans she had ordered a probe into the incident.<\/p>\n

No comment has been made by Messi following the incident.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A fan breaks down in tears after Argentina football star Lionel Messi’s early departure.\u00a0Hindustan Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n

It is not the first time that fans have rioted at Salt Lake Stadium, with a football match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in 2012 creating unwanted headlines.<\/p>\n

That match was abandoned mid-way through fan riots as a player became seriously injured due to being hit in the face by a brick that was thrown from the stands.<\/p>\n

The next stop of Messi’s tour around India is in Mumbai, where he will participate in a fashion showcase. He will then move to Delhi and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi‘s tour of India has not kicked off smoothy, with fans invading and destroying the pitch at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-346923","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}