Key Points
Aroop Biswas resigned as West Bengal Sports Minister after chaos and vandalism erupted at Messi’s GOAT India Tour event in Kolkata.
Mamata Banerjee apologised and ordered an enquiry, while Governor CV Ananda Bose and BJP leaders demanded accountability over organisational failures.
Messi departed to Miami today after his four day GOAT India tour finished, he wished India for a good future in football.
Lionel Messi started his GOAT India tour in West Bengal’s Salt Lake City Stadium, Saturday, on December 13, 2025. He was accompanied by fellow footballers and Inter Miami team-mates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul. However, the event witnessed a great mishap and failure of organisation as attendees vandalised the stadium.
As soon as Messi entered the stadium, many TMC politicians and organisers hogged him for photographs and autographs. Messi left the event after only about 20 minutes, which left the fans enraged and angered over the organisers. The anger led to a chaos, where Messi’s fans broke chairs and threw bottles on the ground, leading the Police to intervene.
West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas has offered his resignation, paving the way forward for an unbiased investigation into the incident. He will however hold his other post as the Power and Housing Departments Minister.
Aroops Biswas, TMC MLA from Tollygunj expressed his failures in a letter to the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. He said that since an investigation team has been formed, it's better he resigns from the post of Sports Minister for an impartial investigation. Mamata Banerjee quickly accepted his resignation, and replied in a statement that she would be looking after the Sports Department until the enquiry is over.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had earlier expressed her apologies to the fans for the mismanagement of such a magnanimous event. In a post on X, she apologised to Messi, and the countless fans for the aforementioned mishap. She also announced the formation of an enquiry committee to investigate the incident.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose had earlier demanded the resignation of Aroop Biswas, and asked for strict action against all those who were involved in the incident. He remarked that a historic tryst of Kolkata with Messi turned chaotic as senior government officials, including State Ministers Aroop Biswas and Sujit Bose, and several others, hogged Messi and enraged the crowd.
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Amit Malviya, BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal, heavily criticised the TMC for its failures in organising this event. In a post on X, he highlighted the poor governance and failed administration of the Mamata Banerjee led TMC government.
Messi visited New Delhi and Mumbai for his three day tour, which extended by one more day. After visiting the Ambani founded Vantara Wildlife conservation centre, he departed to Miami today, on December 17, 2025. In an Instagram post, he expressed his gratitude to the people of India for attending his event, and wished India to have a great future in football.
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