Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday apologised twice in her 132-word statement, which she posted on her official X handle within an hour of the football icon Lionel Messi’s visit ending abruptly due to anger and violence at Salt Lake Stadium.

A source in the Trinamool Congress said Mamata’s apology — very rare in her political career — showed how deeply embarrassed she was by the mess surrounding the global football icon. The source said the incident had derailed what could have been a fantastic opportunity for her to woo lakhs of Messi fans, especially young voters, ahead of next year’s Assembly polls. Even after the RG Kar incident last year, Mamata did
not apologise.

“I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake Stadium. I was on my way to the stadium to attend the event along with thousands of sports lovers and fans who had gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite footballer, Lionel Messi. I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident,” Mamata wrote on her X handle at 1.18pm on Saturday.

An angry crowd, many of whom had spent hefty amounts to buy tickets, alleged they failed to get a glimpse of Messi as several organisers, accompanied by state sports minister Aroop Biswas and his aides, had cordoned him off.

“Once again, I extend my heartfelt apologies to all sports lovers,” Mamata ended her post, apologising for the second time, even as many called it a shameful day for Calcutta, known as the “Pilgrimage of Football”.

Mamata also returned from her way to Salt Lake Stadium, where she was scheduled to felicitate the Argentine football star in the presence of Shah Rukh Khan and Sourav Ganguly.

Mamata formed an inquiry committee under the chairmanship of retired Justice Ashim Kumar Ray, with the chief secretary and the additional chief secretary of the home and hill affairs department as members.

“The committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future,” Mamata wrote.

A Trinamool leader off the record said the event, had it been successful, could have been a major opportunity for the party to woo lakhs of Messi followers. “Didi felicitating Messi would have gone viral on social media, but what we saw instead was a vandalised stadium, arson on seats, and people accusing the government and our ministers, including Aroop Biswas, of mismanagement,” the leader said. “It was a relief that the chaos did not occur after Didi reached the venue; otherwise, it would have been more pathetic.”

Several leaders pointed to the failure of sports minister Biswas. A series of complaints erupted against him that he was busy being photographed with Messi while obstructing the football icon from spectators.

Many people who paid over ₹10,000 to get a glimpse of Messi publicly blamed Biswas for creating obstacles that prevented them from seeing the icon even for a second.

Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh accused a group of hyangla (greedy) people of obstructing Messi.

“Why was Messi surrounded by a group of hyangla (greedy) people? Why was Messi not allowed to move around the stadium alone? Why did the organisers not have even a minimum plan? Is it only money and business that matter?” Ghosh wrote on X, even before Mamata’s post.

Though Ghosh did not name any party leader, Biswas was among those who surrounded Messi on the ground.

A Trinamool leader questioned why Biswas should not resign as sports minister. The leader said while the sports minister’s role was under scrutiny, the role of his brother, Swaroop Biswas, in previous controversies involving Tollywood could not
be ignored.

The BJP directly accused Biswas and his cabinet colleague Sujit Bose of turning Messi’s visit into a business venture at the cost of the public.

“I demand the arrest of ministers Aroop Biswas and Sujit Bose, and the main organiser Satadru Dutta, on charges of mismanagement and a law-and-order crisis,” said BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, demanding Mamata’s resignation.

Trinamool claimed the chaos was engineered by the BJP, citing a video in which a person was seen carrying a saffron flag and chanting “Jai Shri Ram”. However, this prompted questions on how the police allowed people with flags to enter the venue.

Political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty said Mamata’s plan using Messi backfired. “It was certainly a populist step to use the occasion and a football icon like Messi to woo lakhs of fans and young voters. However, it damaged Trinamool in two ways: first, it exposed government mismanagement. Second, it led to public frustration as people spent thousands but failed to see Messi,” he said.