India, Dec. 15 -- In Hyderabad and Mumbai, Lionel Messi's four-city tour of India turned a corner after a disastrous start in Kolkata on Saturday. What was meant to be a red-letter day for the City of Joy descended into chaos and vandalism. A Times of India report revealed on Monday that Messi and his team felt a "serious threat" soon after his arrival at the Salt Lake Stadium, where even the police failed to discharge their duties and instead joined politicians and organisers repeatedly seeking selfies with the Argentine icon.

The report revealed that Messi's team felt security at the venue was not up to standard and that the situation could have turned dangerous after a member of the crowd, comprising politicians and organisers who had...