Chaos erupted at the Salt Lake Stadium in West Bengal’s Kolkata on Saturday as fans vandalised the venue, alleging poor management after footballer Lionel Messi made a brief public appearance there.

Later in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee apologised for the incident and ordered an investigation. Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar said that Shatadru Dutta, chief organiser of the event in Kolkata, had been detained for the alleged mismanagement, PTI reported.

Messi is in the country from Saturday to Monday for a three-day GOAT (Greatest of All Time) India Tour 2025. The footballer is scheduled to visit Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi for exhibition matches, meet-and-greets and interactions with athletes.

He is also joined by his Inter Miami teammate Luis Suárez and Argentine footballer Rodrigo De Paul.

As part of the tour, Messi is scheduled to visit Telangana's Hyderabad later in the day. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to greet him there, The Hindu reported.

At Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, thousands of spectators from several parts of the country had arrived to catch a glimpse of Messi, The Hindu reported. The footballer’s convoy entered the stadium at 11.30 a.m.

Messi was accompanied by Suarez and Paul.

However, as the footballers entered the stadium, a crowd of about 70 to 80 persons, including the organisers of the event, state Sports Minister Aroop Biswas and representatives of football clubs, surrounded them.

The spectators on the stands were unable to see Messi, Suarez and Paul as the group surrounding the footballers tried to take selfies and autographs from them, the newspaper reported. The fans started shouting: “We want Messi”.

However, Messi was taken out of the stadium at about 11.52 am, before Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and actor Shahrukh Khan arrived to greet him, The Hindu reported.

Subsequently, chaos ensued as angry spectators started breaking chairs in the stands and throwing them on the field. Bottles were also thrown. The spectators broke the gate along the edge of the field and entered in large numbers.

Temporary structures were overturned and some were even set on fire, The Hindu reported.

Police officers resorted to lathi-charge to control the crowd. Personnel from the Rapid Action Force were also deployed inside the stadium, PTI reported.

An unidentified fan told ANI that it was an “absolutely terrible event”, adding that Messi came for only 10 minutes.

“All the leaders and ministers surrounded him,” the news agency quoted the fan as saying. “We couldn’t see anything. He didn’t take a single kick or a single penalty. He came for 10 minutes and left. So much money, emotions, and time wasted.”

Ajay Shah, another fan, told PTI that there was complete mismanagement.

“People have spent a month’s salary to see Messi,” the news agency quoted Shah as saying. “I paid Rs 5,000 for a ticket. We came to watch Messi, not politicians. There was no drinking water, and even the police were busy taking selfies.”

Ticket prices for the event ranged between Rs 4,500 and Rs 10,000, PTI reported.

CM Mamata orders probe

Apologising for the incident, Banerjee said that she was “deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today” at Salt Lake Stadium.

“I was on my way to the stadium to attend the event along with thousands of sports lovers and fans who had gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite footballer, Lionel Messi,” the chief minister said on social media. “I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident.”

The Trinamool Congress chief also said that an enquiry committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of retired Justice Ashim Kumar Ray, along with the chief secretary, the additional chief secretary, and home and hill Affairs Department as members.

“The committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future,” she added.

Separately, the director general of police said that action will be taken “against the mismanagement we have seen from the organisers’ side, with their security team and press team running around”, The Hindu reported.

Noting that Dutta had already been detained, Kumar added that the organiser were told that the tickets sold for the event would have to be refunded.

“A lot of fans must have felt that they would see Messi playing, but could not,” the newspaper quoted the director general of police as saying. “We expect that the organisers will come through as far as the refund of the ticket is concerned. We will make sure legal action is taken.”

Jawed Shamim, the additional director general of police (law and order), also said that peace had been restored in the stadium area, The Hindu reported. A first information report is being prepared, he added.

The police officer added that the incident was limited only to the stadium and that no arson or vandalism had taken place outside.