Messi event fiasco will affect Bengal for 50 years: AIFF chief Chaubey

KOLKATA: (Dec 14) All India Football Federation president and BJP leader Kalyan Chaubey on Sunday claimed that the chaos and vandalism during football superstar Lionel Messi’s event at the Salt Lake Stadium here will have a wide fallout and damage Kolkata’s reputation for over 50 years.

The opening leg of Messi’s four-city ‘GOAT India Tour 2025’ in Kolkata descended into chaos on Saturday morning due to poor crowd management and security lapses, with the Argentine superstar surrounded and pushed by selfie-seeking politicians and VIPs.

As a result, Messi, accompanied by Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, wrapped up the programme in 20 minutes and returned to his hotel before leaving for Hyderabad for the second stop of the tour later in the evening.