Former Indian cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticised Lionel Messi for the chaos that erupted during his Kolkata appearance, holding the Argentinian World Cup winner responsible instead of the event organisers.
Messi’s three-day GOAT India Tour took him across Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi from December 13 to 15, marking his first trip to India in 14 years. He travelled with Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul.
The visit started disastrously in Kolkata, where angry fans vandalised Salt Lake Stadium after Messi appeared for only five minutes instead of the scheduled duration. Fans who paid substantial amounts for tickets claimed they barely got a glimpse of the football star.
West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee apologised to fans and formed a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the incident.
While at least one event organiser was arrested for the debacle, Gavaskar, writing for Sportstar, defended the organisers and placed blame on Messi for leaving early and disappointing fans.
“Everyone was blamed except the person who failed to honour his commitment,” Gavaskar said.
“What the agreement was isn’t public, but if he was meant to be there for an hour and left well before that, then the real culprit was he and his entourage.”
Gavaskar dismissed suggestions of security concerns, stating Messi faced no threat from fans who spent thousands to see him.
“Yes, he was surrounded by politicians and so-called VIPs, but there was no security threat to him or his entourage,” he wrote.
“Was he supposed to simply walk around the stadium, or do something tangible like take a penalty kick? If it were the latter, those around him would automatically have had to move, and the crowd would have seen their hero do what they had come to watch.”
The former cricketer also pointed out that the tour proceeded smoothly in the other three cities, suggesting the problem laid with Messi rather than the organisers.
“The other appearances went smoothly because commitments were met,” Gavaskar said, adding that “before blaming fellow Indians in Kolkata” it was important to check if promises were actually kept on both sides.
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