Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee apologised to Lionel Messi, his fans, sports lovers and announced an inquiry committee to probe into the mismanagement at the Salt Lake stadium on Saturday during an event attended by the Argentinian legend.

“I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake stadium,” Mamata wrote on her X handle, almost 30 minutes after the stadium was vacated.

“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,” the chief minister wrote.

Three of the special invitees to the event, Mamata Banerjee, former cricketer Sourav Ganguly and actor Shah Rukh Khan could not attend the event, which descended into chaos.

The three-member committee headed by Justice (Retd.) Ashim Kumar Ray will also include the chief secretary Manoj Pant and the state home secretary Nandini Chakravarty.

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

This was Messi’s second visit to Kolkata.

On Saturday morning, as soon as Messi arrived at the stadium, where a Mohun Bagan vs Diamond Harbour match was being played, those with access to the field ran towards the oncoming car. Irate fans waiting in the stand for a glimpse of their favourite footballer got enraged and ran amok on the field, hurling bottles and chairs. Messi was escorted out of the field.

The Bidhannagar police had to lathi-charge the fans on the ground.