Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia slammed “unwanted VIPs” who came and surrounded the Argentine football icon Lionel Messi, creating chaos at Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata on Saturday.
Talking to news agency PTI, Bhutia said, “What we saw and heard was that a lot of unwanted VIPs came to the stadium and surrounded Messi, while the genuine fans did not get to see him. I hope this kind of incident does not happen.”
Bhutia said Messi's visit was a good initiative, but was marred by poor organisation, which prevented genuine fans from seeing their idol. “It is a bit disappointing because I heard that around 80,000 fans turned up. Everybody loves Messi, but genuine fans did not really get to see him, which is very unfortunate.”
“When you pay and come to see Messi, whom people worship, and you don't get to see him because of a lot of unwanted, self-claimed VIPs surrounding him, then it becomes very difficult,” he said.
The footballer said that the organisers should have made sure that the genuine fans actually get to see their real idol and football hero. “Every fan is going to get very upset, because some have come from very far away. We saw that many fans came from the Northeast as well, and even from Bengal,” he said.
A “disappointed” Bhutia said organisers should ensure that such incidents do not recur as they hurt the country's image. He hoped that organisers learn a lesson and said, “It also spoils the country's name.”
Football ‘not in great shape’
Bhaichung Bhutia, who was returning after attending the closing ceremony of the Bastar Olympic 2025 event, said the football scene in India was “not in great shape” at present, “but hopefully in future it will get sorted”.
‘Sports is the best medium to…’
He also praised the `Bastar Olympic' event in Chhattisgarh, terming it a good initiative to connect youth, particularly from Naxal-affected areas, with sports.
"Sports is the best medium to connect with the younger generation. It was a very good initiative. I hope in the coming years we will be able to see good sportspersons emerging from Chhattisgarh, specially from Bastar," Bhutia said.
Noting that he himself belongs to the tribal community, the former captain of the Indian football team said tribal communities are naturally gifted in sports.
The Northeast is an example as 70 to 80 per cent of medal winners from the region are tribals, he said.
