I’ve waited years to see Lionel Messi Live. Like thousands of others in this football-crazy city, Kolkata, I bought a ticket worth ₹8,000, hoping to finally see Messi live at Salt Lake Stadium on December 13. I told myself that it would be worth it: a chance to watch my Favourite player, the greatest player of all time. A memory for a lifetime.
But what I got instead was 20 minutes of pure frustration, followed by chaos I’ll never forget.
From the moment Messi stepped out with Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, A group of VIPs, politicians, and security gathered around him. I strained my neck trying to catch just a small glimpse, but all I could see was a sea of suits. Almost 150 people surrounded him. We Fans from the stands couldn’t even see him on the large TV screens, forget about seeing him live. And right there, our beloved Arup Biswas, glued to Messi’s side like he was his personal tour guide, smiling, posing, taking selfies while the paying fans who made this event possible were treated like background props.
We booed. We chanted Messi’s name louder. Some of us threw water bottles. Chairs got broken. The atmosphere turned ugly fast. Messi looked uncomfortable, the organizers panicked, Messi left the Stadium, and the whole thing was wrapped up in less than half an hour.
Right of Messi: Arup Biswas’s brother Swarup Biswas’s two daughters…
Left to Messi: Aditi Gayen, Agnisha Banerjee, Akash Banerjee (these are Mamata Banerjee’s nephews and nieces)…
Then you will understand how the judicial inquiry is going to take place. pic.twitter.com/5GfsJunXWU
— Md Umair Razi (@umair_razi14) December 14, 2025
For days, the videos circulated everywhere: Arup Biswas hovering around Messi, turning what should have been a fan-focused event into his personal photo Session. It wasn’t just embarrassing for us; it was embarrassing for the entire country.
When Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee apologized publicly and ordered an inquiry, I thought it would be the usual story: a few statements, some blame-shifting, and then everything quietly forgotten. But today, the news broke that Arup Biswas has resigned as Sports Minister,
In his resignation letter, he said he was stepping down to ensure a “fair and impartial probe.” Whatever the real reason, I’m glad he’s gone from that chair.I don’t care about political point-scoring, whether TMC calls it accountability or BJP calls it damage control. What matters is that a minister has actually stepped down because an event he oversaw turned into a disaster. He made 60k Fans, including me, in the Stadium Cry because this was their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Messi Live, and he made sure to ruin it. Other cities had smoother events, but Kolkata was left disappointed.
#BREAKING #Bengal Sports Minister Arup Biswas has offered to resign from the ministry owing to the Dec 13 mess of #MessiInKolkata event
He has given his resignation to #MamataBanerjee pic.twitter.com/xwObfyDlVd
— Tamal Saha (@Tamal0401) December 16, 2025
I will forever love Messi. But next time a global icon visits my city, I hope the people in charge remember who these events are really for: the fans in the stands, not the politicians on the pitch.
Until then, thank you, Arup Biswas, for finally doing the decent thing and resigning. It doesn’t give me back those wasted hours or my money or my dream to see my goat live.
Leo, maybe not this time, but one day we will meet For Sure.
