West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday apologised to football star Lionel Messi and his fans after chaos broke out at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, where thousands of people had gathered to see the Argentine icon.
In a post on X, Banerjee said she was deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement at the stadium. She said she was on her way to attend the event along with thousands of football lovers when the incident occurred. “I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident,” she wrote.
The chief minister announced that the state government has formed an enquiry committee to investigate what went wrong. The committee will be headed by retired Justice Ashim Kumar Ray and will include the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home and Hill Affairs Department. Banerjee said the panel will conduct a detailed enquiry, fix responsibility, and recommend steps to prevent such incidents in the future. She again extended her apologies to all sports fans.
Chaos erupted after Messi cut short his appearance at the ticketed event, leaving many fans angry and disappointed. Videos from the stadium showed spectators breaking barricades and throwing bottles and chairs inside the ground. Several fans complained that they could not get a clear view of Messi despite paying high ticket prices.
One frustrated fan said the minimum ticket price was Rs 5,000 and questioned why VVIPs and celebrities were crowding around Messi, making it impossible for ordinary fans to see him. “We were furious. We want a refund,” the fan said. Another called the event an “absolute disgrace” and said Messi did not complete a full lap of the stadium as expected.
Messi had arrived in Kolkata earlier in the day as part of the first leg of his India tour. After unveiling a statue of himself, he reached Salt Lake Stadium, where excitement quickly turned into anger due to poor crowd management. As the situation worsened, organisers were forced to escort Messi out of the venue.
Because the programme was cut short, several dignitaries, including Shah Rukh Khan, former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, and Mamata Banerjee herself could not take part in the event.
The opposition BJP strongly criticised the state government and blamed the ruling Trinamool Congress for what it called total mismanagement. BJP leaders said the incident was an embarrassment on an international stage and demanded the resignation of the state sports minister. Trinamool leaders, however, blamed the organisers and some unruly elements in the crowd, saying their actions brought shame to the city and denied genuine fans their chance to see Messi.
