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Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday, December 13, met Argentine football legend Lionel Messi in Hyderabad and was presented the GOATED No. 10 jersey by the World Cup winner. Rahul Gandhi met Messi, who is visiting India as part of the GOAT Tour, and spent time with him.
He later put out an Instagram story from his official handle, hailing the Argentine, considered one of the greatest footballers of recent times.
"Viva Football With the GOAT @leomessi," wrote Gandhi in his message, which was accompanied by a video showing visuals from his meeting with the Argentine superstar. The video shows Gandhi posing for pictures with Messi, walking with the former Barcelona and PSG star, and talking to him as Messi waved to his fans.
A few minutes later, the Congress party put out a social media post, informing that Messi presented Gandhi with a special commemorative jersey in Argentina colours.
"๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐จ. ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ก๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ข ๐ฃ๐ข," the post said. It was accompanied by a video from the post-match presentation in Hyderabad, which also showed the Congress leader giving the Argentine a memento.
Messi reached Hyderabad on Saturday and made an appearance at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Uppal, despite his first stop in Kolkata causing huge controversy after his blink-and-miss performance at the Salt Lake Stadium, for which fans had forked out huge amounts for tickets.
Messi reached the Telangana capital earlier in the afternoon and appeared in many photo-ops, seen kicking a ball with kids and interacting and chilling with one of the officials. He also met Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and other senior government officials and celebrities.
At the Uppal Stadium, the Argentine star stayed inside one of the VIP boxes and was shown waving at the camera to make a fleeting appearance on the big screen inside the stadium and broadcast visuals as two teams played a match.
On Saturday, there were reports that one of the main organisers of the GOAT Tour was arrested by Kolkata police for alleged mismanagement at the event in Salt Lake Stadium.
Earlier in the day, Satadru Dutta, the principal organiser of the mega event held at Salt Lake Stadium on the northern outskirts of Kolkata earlier in the day, featuring Argentine football star Lionel Messi, was arrested after chaos and vandalism broke out at the venue over high ticket prices and limited access to the football icon, an official said.
Confirming the arrest, Additional Director General (Law & Order) Jawed Shamim said that a first information report (FIR) would be registered in connection with the incident. โA thorough investigation will be carried out to ascertain the roots of the mismanagement that ultimately led to the chaos. The police are taking the matter very seriously. Every person found responsible for the mismanagement and the resulting disorder will be booked,โ Shamim said.
Messi's visit to Kolkata ended in chaos after agitated spectators, angered over limited access to the Argentine despite purchasing tickets at what they described as exorbitant prices, went on a rampage inside the stadium. With the situation spiralling out of control, police were forced to resort to a large-scale lathi charge and deploy personnel from the Rapid Action Force (RAF) to restore order. In the wake of the unrest, Messi left the stadium earlier than scheduled.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was on her way to the stadium at the time of the incident. However, after being informed about the ruckus and vandalism, she instructed her driver to turn back. Shortly thereafter, the Chief Minister announced the constitution of a judicial committee to probe the mismanagement that led to the chaos.