‘Brought untold shame’: Bengal governor fumes over Messi event chaos; urges for strict action

NEW DELHI: West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose on Sunday termed the chaos at football star Lionel Messi’s event at Salt Lake stadium an episode that “brought untold shame” to Kolkata and football lovers, and called for strict accountability, including a judicial inquiry, arrests of organisers and a standard operating procedure (SOP) for managing large congregations.

After visiting the venue and interacting with affected spectators, the governor said a committee headed by a retired high court judge, with the state chief secretary and home secretary among its members, is already inspecting the incident.


“This should be an eye-opener for all of us. This incident has brought untold shame to the football lovers everywhere, and in Kolkata,” Bose said.


Earlier on Saturday, at Salt Lake stadium, around 50,000 spectators, many of whom had paid between Rs 4,000 and Rs 12,000 for tickets, and, in some cases up to Rs 20,000 in the black market, expressed anger after politicians, VVIPs and security personnel surrounded Messi, restricting visibility for the general public. The situation later escalated, with some spectators throwing bottles, which are banned inside stadiums. Chairs were pulled out and thrown, causing damage to fibreglass seats across the ground and the synthetic track.

Stressing that the public should not suffer when private parties commercialise sporting events, he said, “There should be a standard operating procedure for such congregation management in future. Because when a private party is allowed to commercialise sports and make money, the public should not be the sufferers.”

He added that the issue involved “larger issues of administrative governance” as well as “the fundamental rights and the human rights of the people.”

The governor said he would submit a report after discussions with victims.

“My report after discussing with some of the victims will be submitted to the concerned authorities, and I do not want to reveal the content right now, but my report is almost ready. After the mark of this field visit, I will submit my report,” he said, adding that it would also be sent to the Centre.

Bose outlined steps he has suggested to the authorities, including a judicial inquiry into the matter; arrest of organisers, “not just the organiser”; refund of ticket money to the public; immediate freezing of the organiser’s accounts; laying down an SOP for such gatherings; and putting in place an insurance scheme for spectators with the premium to be paid by the organiser.

He said he has proposed 12 points to the government, covering remedial, short-term and long-term measures.

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