Fans who came to see their star Lionel Messi, who kicked off a rare promotional tour in India, vandalized a stadium in Kolkata (eastern India) on Saturday, after the Argentine star left.

During his visit, which continues until Monday, the 38-year-old player, who is a fan favorite in India where football is not widely popular, received a warm welcome upon his arrival on Saturday in West Bengal from enthusiastic fans who chanted his name.

A few hours later, thousands of fans wearing Messi jerseys gathered at the Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta, but they were frustrated by the tight security measures that made it almost impossible to see the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star up close.

According to local media, the champion of the “Qatar 2022 World Cup” took a quick tour around the pitch to greet the fans, then left immediately, even though he was scheduled to play for a few minutes.

The fans, many of whom had paid more than $100 – the equivalent of a month's salary for some – erupted in anger, throwing broken seats and water bottles onto the field before storming the pitch.

“Seeing Messi was a dream, but I didn’t get the chance to see him because of the poor organization at the stadium,” businessman Nabin Chatterjee, 37, told AFP.

Ajay Shah expressed his anger, according to the Indian news agency PTI, saying: “I came with my son to see Messi, not politicians,” noting that he was unable to see the Inter Miami star, while the police and army personnel tasked with protecting him were “taking selfies with him.”

Shah blamed “organization,” a claim echoed by authorities, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressing her “shock” at the disorganization.

Banerjee wrote on her X platform account: “I offer my sincere apologies to Lionel Messi and all sports fans and admirers for this unfortunate incident,” announcing that an investigation into what happened has been opened.

Javed Shameem, a senior police official in the state, told reporters that the “main organizer” of the event had been arrested, without disclosing further details. He added, “Things are proceeding quite normally,” noting that authorities would look into how the organizers could refund those who had purchased tickets.

For its part, the Indian Football Federation confirmed that it did not participate in “organizing, planning or executing” this “special event”.

A statement issued by the federation read: “Furthermore, the Indian Football Federation was not informed of the details of the event, and no approval was obtained from it.”

Before he arrived at Salt Lake Stadium, a huge statue of Messi (21 meters high) holding the World Cup was unveiled in the city.

The Argentine star is scheduled to continue his tour in Hyderabad, Bombay and New Delhi.