Bringing the Lionel Messi fiasco to the forefront, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Nationwide Sports activities Day assured that the cash of 33,000 followers who purchased tickets for the chaotic Messi occasion at Yuva Bharati Stadium shall be refunded from the state’s sports activities finances.
Lionel Messi had visited the Yuva Bharati Stadium on December 13, 2025, however the event was marred by chaos. The extreme hobnobbing by Aroop Biswas, the Sports activities Minister of the Trinamool Congress authorities, was blamed for the dysfunction. Though spectators current on the stadium that day demanded a refund for tickets costing Rs 4,000 and Rs 6,000, that demand has not but been met.
Referring to the incident at a particular Nationwide Sports activities Day occasion held at Nabanna to mark the beginning anniversary of ‘Wizard of Hockey’ Main Dhyan Chand, Suvendu stated, “Messi has an enormous fan base. They’d bought tickets costing Rs 4,000 and Rs 6,000. It’s my want to be certain that the cash paid by these 33,000 sports activities fans is refunded. I’ve already initiated the method internally. I hope to have the ability to accomplish this.”
The occasion on Saturday was attended by former hockey participant Gurbux Singh, Sports activities Minister Indranil Khan, All India Soccer Federation President Kalyan Chaubey and others. Achieved athletes have been felicitated and handed appointment letters on the event.
Lashing out on the earlier authorities for neglecting the sports activities sector, the Chief Minister stated, “You’ll be shocked to know that the paperwork for most of the athletes who acquired appointment letters as we speak had been gathering mud within the Chief Minister’s workplace for 11 years.
“In recent times, West Bengal’s illustration within the Olympics, the Asian Video games, or nationwide groups has been nearly non-existent, whereas states like Odisha and Jharkhand ship representatives. Bengal possesses expertise, mind, dedication, and focus, however lacks the mandatory methods, initiatives, and political will. Why should each sports activities sector or organisation be managed by politics? The change this time shall be a metamorphosis of that very system. We are going to be certain that occurs.”
Outlining his authorities’s roadmap, he acknowledged, “We’ve allotted a finances of 4 hundred crore rupees for the sports activities sector; though, this isn’t a full-year finances however one masking eight months. We are going to construct mini indoor stadiums in all 294 meeting constituencies, that includes tennis courts, badminton courts, and gymnasiums. It’s not potential to construct 294 stadiums in a single yr, so we’ll assemble 100 stadiums this yr. The present stadiums are in a dilapidated state; the earlier authorities uncared for the sports activities sector.”
– Ends
