Sports Minister Resigns Following Chaos During Messi’s Event

Football legend Lionel Messi’s G.O.A.T. India tour turned messy during his visit to the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on December 13. Following the chaos, Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Sports minister Aroop Biswas, who is facing flak, has offered to resign to ensure an impartial investigation into the fiasco.

Biswas, a trusted lieutenant of the CM, wrote to Mamata Banerjee offering to step down as the Sports and Youth Affairs minister.

Mamata Banerjee has accepted the resignation of Biswas from his position as sports minister.

A statement from the CMO said she appreciates the “sentiment and intention” of the sports minister. “I think he is very much correct and until and unless the impartial inquiry is over, the Sports Department will be looked after by me for the time being,” the Chief Minister’s Office said. However, Biswas will retain his cabinet role and focus on the power department. 

During the event, fans became angry as the Argentine soccer player made only a brief appearance, even when they bought tickets for around Rs 3,500. Messi was scheduled for a 45-minute visit to the stadium but he was present at the place for only 10 minutes.

Peeved over the development, furious fans ripped up seats and threw items towards the pitch at the stadium. Some others climbed a fence around the field and hurled objects.

Following the fiasco, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee apologized to Messi and ordered a probe into the incident. A committee was constituted to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident, and also recommend measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the future.

Many fans slammed Biswas for clinging to Messi and getting his family members to click picture with the football legend, while fans who paid thousands could not get a glimpse of the sporting legend. Also, Kolkata police detained Messi event organizer Satadru Dutta following numerous complaints on ticket sales and refunds at the Salt Lake stadium. Fans were angry over the poor planning and also false promises following Messi’s brief appearance at the stadium. Dutta was denied bail in the case and sent to 14-day custody.