STORY: Lionel Messi's tour of India kicked off chaotically on Saturday (December 13) as fans threw objects, ripped up seats and invaded the pitch at Kolkata's Salt Lake stadium after the Argentine soccer great made only a brief appearance at a ticketed event.

Satadru Dutta, the event's chief organizer, has been detained by police, said Rajeev Kumar, director general of West Bengal police.

Messi was scheduled for a 45-minute visit to the stadium, but his appearance lasted just 20 minutes. Tickets for the event were priced from around 3,500 rupees ($38.65) - more than half of average weekly income in India - but one fan said he had paid $130.

Fans in the Salt Lake stadium in the capital of the Eastern state of West Bengal threw ripped-up seats and other objects onto the field, while several people climbed a fence around the field and hurled objects.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA (DECEMBER 13, 2025) (ANI - No use India)

1. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS VANDALISING STADIUM

2. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS WALKING INTO STADIUM

3. SECURITY PERSONNEL ENGAGING WITH PROTESTERS

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE, WEST BENGAL, RAJEEV KUMAR, SAYING:

"We have already detained the main organiser. We are taking action so that this mismanagement does not go unpunished and we will see that the fans, that's our expectation, that the fans should be adequately compensated."

5. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS CHANTING (English): "We want Messi"

6. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS CONFRONTING POLICE AT GATES