West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has said efforts are being made to compensate nearly 33,000 football fans who, he claimed, were duped after paying for tickets to watch Lionel Messi in action at the Salt Lake Stadium last December.

Security measures had collapsed during the Kolkata leg of the GOAT Tour, with much of the blame falling on Aroop Biswas, the sports minister of the erewhile Trinamool Congress government.

Speaking on Saturday at a special National Sports Day event at Nabanna, Adhikari said an internal mechanism was currently being worked out to facilitate refunds. He stopped short of explaining how the beneficiaries would be identified, what documentation they would need to submit, or when the process would be completed.

“Messi has a huge fan base. They had purchased tickets costing ₹4,000, ₹6,000, and ₹8,000. It is my wish to ensure that the money paid by these 33,000 cheated sports enthusiasts is refunded. I have already initiated the process internally. I hope to accomplish this,” Adhikari was quoted as saying.

The event was also attended by former hockey player Gurbux Singh, sports minister Indranil Khan, and All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey, among others.

Published on Aug 30, 2026