In a sharp response to allegations surrounding the mismanagement of Lionel Messi's India tour, the event's chief organiser, Satadru Dutta, has claimed that he was unfairly blamed to cover up the alleged failures by the local administration and West Bengal Police.
Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Dutta said he remained silent until now because he was not given an opportunity to present his side of the story.
According to Dutta, the chaos that unfolded during the Kolkata leg of the G.O.A.T. India Tour was not the result of poor planning on the organisers' part, but rather a "breakdown" in security arrangements. He alleged that despite prior coordination and the presence of high-level security protocols, several influential individuals and bureaucrats entered restricted areas at Salt Lake Stadium simply to take photographs with Messi.
The G.O.A.T. India Tour saw the football great come to India and visit Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi From Dec. 13 to Dec.15 2025.
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“To hide their own failures, they made me a scapegoat,” Dutta told NDTV. “As an organiser, I am not a law enforcer. I trusted the police to handle the security arrangements that had already been planned.”
The organiser revealed that he had repeatedly pointed out the growing crowd near the field of play to senior police officials, including the Commissioner of Police and the Director General of Police. However, he claimed even officers who were not assigned to the event entered restricted zones, further worsening the situation.
The chaotic scenes reportedly left Messi uncomfortable and "claustrophobic", with Dutta alleging that several individuals attempted to touch or approach the Argentine superstar for selfies. He further claimed that Messi's teammate Rodrigo De Paul was scratched during one such attempt.
Dutta stressed that the remaining stops of the tour in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi were completed smoothly, arguing that the problems were specific to Kolkata's local administration and security management.
"If my preparations had serious flaws, the events in other cities would also have failed," he said. "In those cities, the administration and police allowed us to execute the event properly."
The organiser, who was detained after the incident, also made a startling claim regarding Messi's reaction to the arrest. According to Dutta, the football icon objected when authorities detained him on the aircraft while the team was preparing to leave for the next destination.
Describing Messi as a “gentleman,” Dutta praised the World Cup-winning captain for remaining calm and professional throughout the ordeal.
Maintaining that the case is now before the courts, Dutta questioned why he alone was targeted by the Special Investigation Team while several influential individuals seen violating security protocols were not investigated.
“My image has suffered and I have been defamed,” he said, adding that he plans to file a defamation case against the minister involved in the controversy.
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