The eagerly anticipated return of football icon Lionel Messi to Kolkata after 14 years spiralled into pandemonium on Saturday at the Salt Lake Stadium (Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan), transforming a celebratory event into a scene of vandalism, fury, and intense political warfare between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Several invited dignitaries, including Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, as well as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, were unable to participate in the event as planned.

How Chaos Kicked Off

The disaster unfolded when Messi, part of the inaugural leg of his “GOAT India Tour 2025" along with teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, made an appearance that was devastatingly brief. Fans, many

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