West Bengal sports minister Nisith Pramanik has said that the newly-inducted Bharatiya Janata Party government has decided that the people who sabotaged the GOAT Tour event involving football legend Lionel Messi will not be spared.
Messi, along with his Inter Miami CF teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, had visited Kolkata in December but left the stadium early amidst crowd chaos, leaving many fans disappointed.
After Messi arrived late at the stadium, VIPs and officials crowded the field, leaving most fans in the stands without a clear view of him.
“As you all know, the Messi chapter was an embarrassment for this State and after I took charge, we decided that people because of whom the event was sabotaged will not be spared,” Pramanik said
while speaking to the media.
“We have also discussed refunding the money of fans who spent their hard-earned savings to see Messi but couldn’t. If that does not happen, we will be forced to take strict action,” Pramanik added.
Meanwhile, the Government of West Bengal will remove the controversial football-themed sculpture outside Salt Lake Stadium, designed by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Pramanik said while also announcing a series of infrastructure upgrades at the iconic venue.
Speaking after the Indian Super League Kolkata derby between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal FC ended in a 1-1 draw on Sunday, May 17, Pramanik criticised the structure conceptualised by Banerjee and said that it would soon be demolished.
“Such an ugly-looking statue, two legs cut at the torso and a football above it doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing either, so we will not keep such a grotesque structure that has no meaning and it will be taken down,” Pramanik said.
Installed outside the VVIP gate of Salt Lake Stadium in 2017 ahead of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, the sculpture featured giant footballing legs merging into the Biswa Bangla logo, with the word ‘Joyi‘ inscribed on the football.
