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Satadru Dutta blames unauthorised on field access and political pressure for Lionel Messi Salt Lake Stadium chaos.
Fans alleged that the football icon was surrounded by officials, politicians and heavy security, leaving thousands of spectators in the stands unable to get a clear view of Messi. The limited access and lack of engagement left fans deeply disappointed, which soon turned into anger, with some fans throwing bottles and plastic chairs onto the field, damaging stadium property and attempting to breach security barriers. (Image: PTI)
Sports organiser Satadru Dutta has said that when he entered the Salt Lake Stadium with Lionel Messi, he saw a bunch of ‘unauthorised’ people in the field, which eventually led to massive chaos and drew an early end to the event for which people had paid thousands of rupees.
Dutta claimed that he was made a ‘scapegoat’ in the controversy for no fault of his.
Breaking his silence, Dutta told PTI that the December 13 event at Salt Lake Stadium was meant to operate under a regulated ‘Z-plus security’ framework in line with Union Home Ministry protocols, with only a select few granted on-field access to Messi.
“Everything from our side was meticulously planned. We had 16-20 meetings with police and security officials. But when I entered the ground with Messi, I saw hundreds of unauthorised people crowding inside (the ground) with or without accreditation cards,” Dutta alleged.
He alleged that former West Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas interfered with the functioning of the event and pressured the organisers to issue an extra access pass.
“The pressure began over issuing additional accreditation cards. We refused because the number of people to be given access to the ground and other issues had already been finalised with the police,” Dutta said.
As per him, Messi’s security developed cold feet after multiple people surrounded him for selfies and got close to him.
Dutta alleged that matters escalated when an individual touched Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul while attempting to take a selfie, leaving Messi and his entire entourage uneasy.
“They then decided to leave the ground,” Dutta said.
He asserted that the same format of the event had been held in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi, while expressing disappointment over the inability of the West Bengal Police and the state administration to manage the situation.
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