Fans were angry they could not see the Argentinean despite buying high priced tickets
Frenzy’ is perhaps the most appropriate word to express the madness and fury associated with the public appearance of superstars, maybe in the field of politics, sports or entertainment, all having their own glamour. Just a couple of months ago, at least 41 people were killed and around 100 others injured in a crowd crush during a political rally in Karur district, Tamil Nadu, which was hosted by Vijay, the founder and president of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The stampede happened when large sections of the crowd surged towards Vijay – a highly popular actor in Tamil cinema – in an attempt to catch a glimpse of his convoy. It was a classic case of hero worship having gone wrong.
The December 13 chaos that erupted over the brief appearance of the Argentine football icon, Lionel Messi, during an event in Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium is no different. Thankfully no life was lost in this mad scramble! It may be recalled that Kolkata had witnessed immense chaos and mass hysteria when Pele, the iconic Brazilian footballer, arrived in the city with his team, the New York Cosmos, in September 1977. Pele and his team arrived at Dum Dum Airport (now Netaji Subhash Chandra International Airport) around midnight, and the airport felt like a stadium, mobbed by thousands of fans eager to catch a glimpse of the legend. Police had to whisk the players into a bus to take them to a luxury hotel in the heart of the city, which was also immediately surrounded by fans.
The Saturday violence happened soon after Messi made a brief public appearance before thousands of spectators – not only from Kolkata but from different parts of the country – who had arrived to catch a glimpse of their favourite football star. Thousands of spectators were not able to catch a glimpse of Messi because a crowd of about 70 to 80 people, which included the organisers, State’s Sports Minister Aroop Biswas and representatives of football clubs, surrounded him. The football fans were naturally angry that despite buying tickets at steep prices, they were not even able to glance at the Argentine footballer. Within minutes the angry crowd vandalised banners and started breaking chairs in the gallery and throwing them on the field. They even hurled water bottles onto the field, ripped out fibreglass bucket seats and dismantled the event stage. The police personnel tried to push back the crowd, but they were outnumbered and had to resort to a baton charge.
The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was present at the event, expressed shock at the mismanagement and apologised to the fans. As expected, she has constituted an enquiry committee over the incident and recommended measures to avoid such incidents in the future. Meanwhile, Satadru Dutta, the main organiser of the event, was arrested following the stadium ruckus.
No other Indian state, perhaps with the exception of Goa and Kerala, loves football as much as West Bengal. And football superstars such as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are demigods for the Bengali people. Kolkata even erected a 70-foot-tall statue of Messi holding the FIFA World Cup trophy, which was unveiled by the living legend himself. The West Bengal administration, with such a backdrop, should have been more careful. Its failure to take precautionary measures has now caused total embarrassment to the country on a global stage. One only hopes that the error will not be repeated in the future.
