Kolkata, Dec 13: Lionel Messi’s much-hyped visit to the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday lasted 22 minutes, just enough to underline everything that is wrong in Indian football and the state administration’s mismanagement.

What was billed as a historic celebration of the game’s greatest icon degenerated into a spectacular breakdown of planning, policing and priorities, as angry fans ran riot at the venue after failing to get even a glimpse of their favourite superstar from Argentina.

The chaos was almost ironic.

Messi’s second visit to Kolkata — part of a four-city India tour with Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi to follow — came against the backdrop of the Indian football team’s alarming slide to 142nd in the latest FIFA rankings, its lowest since October 2016.

Arguably the greatest

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