Messi Incident in Kolkata
Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari prevented from entering Salt Lake Stadium; four-member Special Investigation Team visits stadium to probe last week’s vandalism
On Wednesday (December 17, 2025) Abhishek Banerjee defended West Bengal Chief Minister and the government regarding the incident at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium last week during the visit of football legend Lionel Messi. Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari was prevented from entering the stadium on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) to inspect the damage.
The Trinamool Congress All India General Secretary said the incident at the Messi event was unexpected and blamed both the organizers and the police handling the event.
Mr. Banerjee said, “Within an hour of the commotion, the Chief Minister publicly apologized on her social media handle. I don’t think any other Chief Minister in the country has set such an example, showing such grace in apologizing to the people.” He further added that the incident was wrong and had brought shame to West Bengal globally due to the actions of a few individuals.
Following the stampede at the Lionel Messi event at Salt Lake Stadium, Bengal’s Sports Minister Arup Biswas resigned.
Mr. Banerjee also alleged that no Chief Minister in other Indian states had ever publicly apologized after several stampede incidents. Mr. Banerjee further stated, “But our Chief Minister has no ego; she has acknowledged that there was some negligence on the part of the state government in this incident… Due to the overzealousness of a few people, ordinary people who bought tickets with their hard-earned money could not see Messi.” He assured that the Trinamool government would take action against all those responsible for the chaos.
On Wednesday (December 17, 2025), Mr. Adhikari visited the venue of the Messi event, Salt Lake Stadium (Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan), to inspect the damage. He and his team of supporters milled around the stadium, but were prevented from entering.
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Mr. Adhikari said, “We are MLAs, our property has been ruined, shouldn’t we go and see it? … At least ₹300 crore has been embezzled here. This is also a financial crime. They should be investigated under the Money Laundering Act.” He was speaking in the wake of the event’s ticket sales fiasco and growing demands for refunds from spectators.
He also stated that he wants an independent investigation into the incident, conducted by a team free from any influence of the state government.
The four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed on Tuesday (December 16, 2025) to investigate the Messi event fiasco, also visited the stadium on Wednesday morning (December 17, 2025). They are investigating the role of the event organizer, Sutadru Dutta, who has already been arrested, and those responsible for the vandalism at the stadium.
Local police have already arrested seven people in connection with the vandalism that occurred last week. Six people were arrested earlier, and the seventh person was arrested by Bidhannagar South Police on Wednesday (December 17, 2025).
So far, in the wake of the Messi event fiasco, the state’s Sports Minister, Arup Biswas, resigned on Tuesday (December 16, 2025). He faced considerable criticism after his picture standing next to Messi at the event went viral on social media. The state government on Tuesday (December 16, 2025) issued show-cause notices to senior officials, including Director General of Police Rajiv Kumar, Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Mukesh Kumar, and Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Principal Secretary of the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports.
They have also suspended Bidhannagar DCP Anish Sarkar and initiated departmental proceedings against him. Meanwhile, Mr. Adhikari has demanded the arrest of Mr. Biswas and Minister Sujit Bose, who were present at the Messi event.
