Former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has voiced strong criticism regarding the chaos that unfolded at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata during Argentine football legend Lionel Messi's Goat India Tour. Bhutia, speaking to reporters after returning from the Bastar Olympic 2025 closing ceremony, emphasized that incidents like this spoil the country's image at the international level and should be avoided in the future.

Bhutia noted that around 80,000 fans attended the event, but many genuine supporters were unable to see their football 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," Bhutia told PTI.

Reflecting on the organizational shortcomings, B

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