'Minister touched shoulder and waist': Lionel Messi GOAT tour organiser recounts horrific security breakdown in Kolkata
Sports promoter Satadru Dutta, who organised Lionel Messi’s India tour, said he regrets hosting the event in Kolkata after the controversy at Salt Lake Stadium during the Argentine star’s visit. The event came under criticism after Messi left the stadium within 25 minutes amid crowd-control issues and security concerns. Dutta said he never expected the situation to unfold the way it did.
“Absolutely, I regret it. I could have sold this event elsewhere and made more money. But as a Bengali from Kolkata, I wanted football fans here to experience it.
I never imagined that one immature person trying to create his own mileage would destroy the entire event," Satadru Dutta said in an interview with Hindustan Times . Dutta was later arrested by police and spent 38 days in custody. He has now accused the Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress government of political interference and blackmail, claiming the event was sabotaged.
He also raised concerns over the security situation during Messi’s appearance. "Messi had close to a billion dollars in insurance coverage. Imagine if something had happened to him on the ground, it would have become a national embarrassment.
That's why Messi's team decided they could not continue because he doesn't like claustrophobic situations where people crowd around him," he said, as quoted by HT. Dutta said all required approvals and security protocols had been completed from his side before the event. "This event was a Z and Z-plus category event, and the Home Ministry provided the instructions for that security cover to the Bengal government.