West Bengal Sports Minister and senior TMC leader Aroop Biswas tendered his resignation on Tuesday after Lionel Messi’s GOAT India tour in Kolkata turned chaotic on 13 December. Biswas, who drew massive flak over the mismanagement at Salt Lake Stadium, said in the handwritten letter that he was resigning to ensure a “free and fair investigation” into the incident.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accepted the resignation of Aroop Biswas as the Sports Minister of the State.
Banerjee said in a statement in reply, “ I appreciate the sentiment and intention of the Sports Minister to offer a relief from the Sports Department for the sake of impartial inquiry into the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) incident on December 13, 2025. 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.”
In a Facebook post, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh shared an image that he described as a copy of the resignation letter, seeking to be relieved from the post of state minister.
The resignation comes in the wake of mounting backlash against the Mamata Banerjee-led ruling TMC dispensation. The high-profile football event held at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, popularly known as Salt Lake Stadium, witnessed unrest as furious spectators hurled water bottles and vandalised stadium property – estimated at around ₹2 crore, saying they were unable to catch a glimpse of the Argentine footballer despite paying hefty ticket prices.
“Sports Minister Aroop Biswas has written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee requesting to be relieved of the responsibility of the sports department,” Ghosh said in his post, linking the decision directly to the controversy sparked by the Messi event fiasco.
What went wrong at Salt Lake Stadium in ‘city of joy’?
Messi’s Kolkata tour descended into chaos due to a combination of crowd mismanagement, unmet expectations and security lapses, PTI reported. As the event began, spectators breached security barriers, vandalism was reported, and police were forced to intervene in haste.
Frustration mounted when fans realised that the football icon was kept under tight security and was barely visible from large sections of the stadium. Many complained that even the giant screens failed to offer a clear view, undermining the experience despite the high ticket prices.
Anger intensified further when it became evident that Messi would not complete the full lap of the stadium that had been promised in the official programme. Instead, he turned back midway and was escorted out well before his scheduled appearance was to conclude.
News of his early departure triggered an angry backlash. Spectators hurled bottles and plastic chairs onto the pitch, ripped down sponsor banners and hoardings, smashed fibreglass seats, and attempted to break through barricades in a bid to storm the field.
