Kolkata: Kolkata’s worst instincts were on global display at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday (December 13) when Lionel Messi’s long-awaited appearance was hijacked by Trinamool Congress (TMC) ministers, leaders and even members of the chief minister’s family. They swarmed the football icon for selfies while tens of thousands of fans who had paid for tickets were left furious in the stands. The city that prides itself as the “Mecca of Indian football” will now be remembered for a different image of powerful men in government clinging to a football genius, and a cheated public raging in a vandalised stadium.Minister Sujit Basu and his daugher with Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Rodrigo De Paul. Photo: Facebook.From the moment Messi’s car entered the stadium around 11.30 am, the event ceased to be about football and became a spectacle of political entitlement. Instead of a respectful introduction of Messi, Luis Suárez, and Rodrigo De Paul to the crowd, cameras captured sports minister Arup Biswas, TMC leaders, and their relatives, including that of Mamata Banerjee, rushing onto the pitch. They surrounded the players, turning the turf into a VIP photo zone.For nearly the entire 17 minutes Messi was on the ground, the dominant visual was not of him waving to fans, but of ministers and ruling party loyalists pressing in on him from all sides.“They practically glued themselves to Messi,” said Arkaprabha Dutta, who travelled 900 kilometres to watch his childhood hero. “At one point you could barely see him behind the ring of ministers and their people.”Fans who had paid exorbitant prices, with official tickets ranging up to nearly Rs 15,000, and many paying several times more, felt robbed. “We paid more than the initial price to watch Messi, Shah Rukh Khan and Sourav [Ganguly]. Instead, we watched VIPs block him while we stared at screens. It felt like we had been robbed,” said Animesh Basu.What unfolded on the pitch was not just bad optics but physical chaos. In the crush of ministers and hangers-on, one man’s elbow reportedly hit Suárez in the stomach, and De Paul’s hand was scratched. Messi was visibly uncomfortable. His security team, stunned by the total lack of discipline, ushered the players off the pitch and out of the stadium within minutes. For the majority of the paying public, Messi’s visit amounted to a brief, obstructed glimpse on a big screen.The political fallout was swift and raw. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee was forced into an extraordinary position, issuing a 132-word statement on X in which she apologised twice.“I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake Stadium,” she wrote. “I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident.” She ended by saying again: “Once again, I extend my heartfelt apologies to all sports lovers.”An AI-generated image of Lionel Messi with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee posted by Trinamool Congress supporters on social media. Photo: Facebook.For a leader known for defiance, the double apology is telling. The original plan, visuals of Mamata Banerjee on stage with Messi, flanked by Shah Rukh and Sourav, was meant to project her as a leader standing shoulder to shoulder with global icons, potentially leveraging the visit as a political weapon ahead of the elections. Instead, images of VIPs crushing Messi, furious fans, and a ruined stadium went viral. Faced with this humiliating collapse, she had little choice but to apologise.Her apology, however, does not erase the questions around why her ministers behaved as they did, or why her government allowed this structure at all.Sports minister Arup Biswas with Lionel Messi. Photo: Facebook.For now, the knives are out with both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) immediately demanding the resignations of Arup Biswas and his colleague Sujit Bose for the disaster. Within TMC multiple leaders, on and off the record, have asked why they should remain ministers after treating the event like a personal showcase which has embarrassed the party.TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh captured the disgust from within the party when he wrote on X, “Why was Messi surrounded by a group of 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?”As the disaster unfolded, the state’s response was hesitant and confused. Police later claimed that over 2,000 personnel had been deployed, yet they held back while VIPs swarmed Messi and only moved in with force after sections of the crowd broke through the fencing. Hundreds of furious spectators then poured onto the pitch, tearing down goal nets, smashing seats, ripping up turf and even setting sofas on fire. Among them was a group carrying a large saffron flag, prompting regulars to ask how such political banners were allowed in when ordinary fans are often stopped from bringing tifos or messages about issues like the RG Kar protests or Palestine conflict.“We became very small in front of the world,” said former India goalkeeper Bhaskar Ganguly. “It was administrative failure. The administration gave permission. The administration is responsible for security and law and order. They cannot now pretend it was only the organiser’s fault.”“This is the price of organising an event without any planning. A shameful day for Bengal football,” echoed footballer Amit Das.Satadru Dutta with Lionel Messi. Photo: Facebook.At the organisational centre of the event was A Satadru Dutta Initiative (ASDI), fronted by promoter Satadru Dutta. Industry estimates peg the event and tour budget at a massive Rs 20–25 crore. Despite being entrusted with an international icon and a public stadium, Satadru’s “company” reportedly has no proper record with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, signalling opaque money and zero accountability.Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho seen with TMC leader AbhishekBanerjee, TMC Minister Sujit Basu and Satadru Dutta in October 2023. Photo: Facebook.Satadru’s personal proximity to power is well-documented. People in the sports world describe him as “close to Sourav Ganguly”. In 2023, he helped bring Ronaldinho to Kolkata. The football legend attended a Diamond Harbour FC event where Satadru was photographed alongside Ronaldinho and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee. His social media is crowded with pictures alongside Indian sports heroes and influential figures. What is missing is any solid, transparent corporate trail that explains how his initiative was deemed fit to run an event of this magnitude.BJP MLA and former Indian cricketer Ashok Dinda at the stadium with Satadru Dutta. Photo: Facebook.His role ended dramatically when he was pulled off the very aircraft meant to fly Messi out of Kolkata and taken away by officers before being produced in court. He has since been remanded to police custody for interrogation over alleged mismanagement.Beyond the chaos of one morning, many in Bengal’s football fraternity see the Messi fiasco as the product of a system where politics has captured the sport. Mamata Banerjee’s brother Ajit Banerjee serves as the president of the Indian Football Association (IFA), the governing body of football in the state, while sports minister Arup Biswas’s bother Swarup Biswas is the vice-president giving the party significant influence over how the game is run from the top.Another brother, Swapan Banerjee, presides over the Bengal Olympic Association while also holding the key role of ground secretary at Mohun Bagan, one of Kolkata’s most iconic football clubs. Together, these posts place the chief minister’s family at the heart of both Bengal’s football administration and its wider sporting establishment, blurring the line between political power and sports governance.Lionel Messi with Bengali actor Subhashree Ganguly, whose husband Raj Chakrabarty is a TMC MLA. Photo: Facebook.At the national level, BJP leader Kalyan Chaubey’s tenure as AIFF president has drawn similar criticism, feeding the sense that across parties and offices, those in power have dragged both Bengal’s football “to rock bottom”.Mamata Banerjee has announced an inquiry committee headed by retired Justice Asim Kumar Ray. However, confidence in this process is low due to Ray’s past role in Mohun Bagan-Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) merger where he allegedly helped Swapan Banerjee, the chief minister’s brother to become the club’s football secretary.“Asim Ray himself is a controversial figure. Choosing him is another mistake. When he was given the responsibility to resolve the deadlock at Mohun Bagan Club, this very Asim Ray further confused matters by announcing ‘ATK Mohun Bagan.’ Consequently, what kind of investigation will take place is predictable!” asked veteran sports journalist Shyam Sundar Ghosh.Kolkata is no stranger to volatile football crowds. Its history includes deadly derby clashes and cricket matches at Eden Gardens abandoned due to crowd trouble. But this time, the shame is different, and deeper. The trigger was not a controversial decision or a poor performance on the field. It was the sight of those in power acting as if the stadium, the star and the occasion belonged to them alone.Salt Lake Stadium will be fixed. Nets can be re-strung, burnt seats can be replaced, the turf can be re-laid. What will not be so easily repaired is the damage to Kolkata’s sporting pride and the credibility of the West Bengal government.Long after the grass is green again, one picture will linger – ministers, VIPs and relatives of the chief minister swarming Messi for selfies while tens of thousands of paying fans trudge home with nothing but rage. It is that image which forced Mamata Banerjee, for once, to say “sorry,” and it is that image for which, today, shame still echoes across Kolkata.With additional inputs and translated from Bangla by Aparna Bhattacharya.