What was supposed to be one of the biggest celebrations for football fans in Kolkata eventually turned into a nightmare. Nearly six months after Lionel Messi’s controversial visit to the city spiralled into chaos, organiser Satadru Dutta has admitted he regrets bringing the Argentine superstar to Kolkata, even though the decision came from an emotional place.
The event, which was billed as one of the grandest football spectacles in the city in recent years, ended amid crowd unrest, allegations of poor organisation, and major security concerns. The controversy eventually led to Dutta’s arrest.
Reflecting on the fallout for the first time in detail, Dutta said he never imagined Messi’s first private tour beginning in Kolkata would end in such circumstances.
“It’s not a couple of months. It’s now close to six months. See, in my wildest dream, I never thought this because you know Messi, Lionel Messi coming for his first private tour starting from Calcutta, Mecca football, and then you know things happen like this. I never dreamt it,” Dutta told IANS.
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Dutta revealed that despite the emotional significance attached to bringing Messi to Kolkata, he now regrets the decision after everything that unfolded.
“If you ask me honestly, I do regret bringing Messi to Calcutta, but I had an emotional connection with this place, being a son of the soil. I thought the fans should see Messi, and Calcutta should celebrate Lionel Messi football. He’s, you know, he being a world champion, but then as I told you, I never thought that things would turn around to this,” he added.
The organiser claimed that convincing Messi to agree to the appearance had taken years of effort and negotiation.
“It was a three-year effort, you know, three years of effort I have given to bring Messi. And it was very tough to convince him. It was his first private event, don’t forget that,” Dutta said.
However, what began as a dream project soon turned into controversy after the event descended into chaos. Hours later, Dutta was arrested at Kolkata airport and spent 38 days in custody before being released on January 19.
The Messi event triggered massive backlash over crowd management and organisational failures, overshadowing what was expected to be a historic moment for football fans in the city.
Despite everything that happened, Dutta insisted that the fans themselves were not responsible for the collapse of the event and said he would still consider organising another Messi appearance if adequate security support was provided.
“And if I just get support from the government, just saying that, okay, the security will be good, I will go for Messi. Why not? Because see, the fans have not done anything wrong, right?” he said.