Central parts of Delhi see traffic tangles as all roads lead to Arun Jaitley Stadium

New Delhi: In the wake of football icon Lionel Messi's visit for the ‘Lionel Messi GOAT India Tour – Delhi Leg' at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Dec 15, traffic snarls brought parts of central Delhi to a standstill, with congestion lingering even after the event ended around 5pm.

Commuters approaching ITO from the stadium side faced the worst of it. The Ring Road stretch leading to the stadium was choked as fans queued to enter, while others dropped off friends and moved on, disrupting traffic flow. Turning left toward Delhi Gate became particularly difficult. For Ishmeet, 25, the commute to her office in ITO, which would normally take a few minutes, stretched to 25 minutes for just 1.5km. "People were moving slowly, and the rush was overwhelming," she said.


The chaos spilled onto Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, with feeder roads like Asaf Ali Road and Netaji Subhash Marg also bearing the burnt. By 3pm, most fans made their way into the stadium, but parked vehicles along Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg kept traffic heavy, forcing commuters to inch forward at a snail's pace.

Traffic police were deployed throughout the day to manage the surge, but the sheer number of vehicles made smooth movement nearly impossible. "Thousands of people were gathering at the stadium. On-road parking was allowed, and traffic was being managed, but of course, civic sense plays a big role too," a traffic cop said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Several commuters shared their frustration on social media. One post on X read, "Messi's turn to come to Delhi. Traffic is already chaotic at ITO, near Arun Jaitley Stadium," while another noted, "Asaf Ali Road is heavily jammed on the way to Delhi Gate."