Picture Credit: Twitter
World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez is in Kolkata for a trip, and it is not without its share of controversy. The Aston Villa star was at Milan Mela Prangon on Tuesday when disorder broke out over a series of organizing mishaps.
The organizers first faced criticism from Bengali fans when they displayed the logo of ATK Mohun Bagan during the event, even though the football club has been renamed to Mohun Bagan Super Giants from the forthcoming season. They also incorrectly showed the wrong East Bengal logo and called the club SC East Bengal, when it is actually named East Bengal FC. This annoyed not only fans at the venue, but also invited criticism online later.
But this was just the beginning of the caper. Further chaos ensued when gold ticket holding members were informed they would not be receiving Emi Martinez signed jerseys at the event like was promised. Shortly after the Argentina goalkeeper had left the stage, gold ticket members protested and complained in front of the organizing team before trying to ask Martinez himself for the signed shirts. The situation was not helped by the fact that the three categories of ticket holders: gold, silver and bronze, were not properly barricaded and mixed together.
Fans swarmed Martinez’s car with his car windshield getting broke, which meant that the Argentine had to be escorted out of the venue by the police who were forced to intervene and control the crowd. Many of the gold ticket holders had purchased the expensive tickets only to receive the signed kits and were left frustrated with the poor organization of the event and the lack of transparency from those in charge.
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The organizers of the event would later give out signed jerseys to ticket holders at the JW Marriot as well as at Milan Mela Prangon. Despite the chaotic events, Martinez says it was an “extraordinary” trip, and thanked the Bengali people for their love and hospitality. The three-day Kolkata tour will end for Martinez on July 5, and will be visiting the Sreebhumi club in Lake Town and interact in a football critic with the city’s youth.
