Kolkata Police have questioned senior officials of an online ticketing company as part of the SIT probe into the chaos during Lionel Messi’s brief Salt Lake Stadium appearance, which ended early due to crowd mismanagement.
Police have questioned senior officials of an online ticket reselling company as part of the ongoing investigation into the
chaos that erupted during Lionel Messi’s short visit to Kolkata earlier this month. The officials were examined at Salt Lake on Sunday by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing why the Argentine football superstar had to leave the stadium early.
As per The Telegraph, three top officials of the ticketing company flew in from Delhi to Kolkata to cooperate with the investigation. The company was responsible for selling tickets for the December 13 event at the Salt Lake Stadium, where Messi made a public appearance as part of the GOAT Tour of India 2025.
The SIT was formed to look into the circumstances that led to Messi leaving the stadium early during his much-hyped visit. The officials were examined and were asked several questions related to ticket sales and the agreement they had signed with
Satadru Dutta, the main organiser of the event.
Why is SIT questioning ticket reselling company?
Investigators are trying to find out how many tickets were sold officially and how many were kept aside by the organisers for offline sales or issued as complimentary passes. An officer involved in the probe said these details would help understand how unauthorised people managed to enter the stadium despite not having valid passes.
“We sought all types of details on the tickets. That would also be an indicator of how many tickets the organiser kept with himself for selling them offline and how many were kept as complimentary tickets,” an officer was quoted as saying to The Telegraph.
Messi’s visit to Kolkata, which had created massive excitement among fans, turned chaotic soon after his arrival. The football icon stayed at the venue for only about 20 minutes. He was surrounded by politicians, senior police officials, VIPs and their entourages, blocking the view for thousands of fans who had paid to see him.
As the crowd grew restless and security failed to control the situation, officials decided to cut short Messi’s appearance and escort him out of the stadium. This led to anger among fans, some of whom damaged stadium property by throwing bottles and breaking seats. An FIR was later registered, and organiser Satadru Dutta was arrested in connection with the incident.
The SIT continues to investigate the matter to fix responsibility for the mismanagement that led to the embarrassing start of Messi’s much-awaited India visit. Messi later visited Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi, all of which went without any issues.
Messi also took a private tour of the Vantara in Jamnagar, organised by Anant Ambani, before leaving India.
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