The city’s galleries have always been volatile, and December 13 adds to a long list of black days in our sporting history.

As a regular at Eden Gardens since 1983, one can vouch for emotional reactions in the past to omissions of favourite players, at least on two notable occasions.

When Sunil Gavaskar came to play the third Test against England in 1984-85, Kapil Dev was left out as a disciplinary measure for trying to hit his way out of a desperate situation in the earlier Test. Posters reading “No Kapil, No Test” appeared on the collapsible gates beside the clubhouse even before the match began. Gavaskar faced barracking during the game, and a fruit thrown at him hit his wife, souring his relationship with Eden.

Again, in an ODI against South Africa in 2005, the galleries turned against Rahul Dravid’s India after coach Greg Chappell left out local hero Sourav Ganguly.

But Eden is guilty of far worse, incidents rarely mentioned in chronicles of its misdemeanours. Elderly spectators recall New Year’s Day in 1967, when overcrowding led to spectators spilling onto the playing area.
Batons were raised, the pavilion set ablaze and even the wicket dug up. Two visuals linger: West Indian players running to the Great Eastern Hotel and vice-captain Conrad Hunte climbing a flagpole to save the West Indian Board’s flag.

Another instance came during the 1969-70 series against Australia. Overnight queues for daily tickets turned into chaos, with tear gas, lathi charge, and bottle and stone pelting leaving six dead and many injured.

The correspondent’s first experience of violence came on March 13, 1996. It was humid, and drinking water pouches fell short. Sri Lanka had posted a big total but spectators were confident of India reaching the final. But the batting collapse led to bottles being thrown on the field. One nearly hit this correspondent, as Vinod Kambli left the field in tears. The match was awarded to Sri Lanka.

In February 1999, an accidental on-field collision between Shoaib Akhtar and Sachin Tendulkar sparked another outburst. The crowd hurled missiles, and only police intervention allowed the match to conclude.

Football, too, has dark memories at Eden. On August 16, 1980, 16 spectators died during a derby. The violence, attributed to on-field altercations, likely erupted before kickoff due to poor ticket distribution allowing rival fans to sit together.

The Messi visit has now added another episode to an already long tally of tarnished moments.