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Satadru Dutta Sues Over Chaotic 'GOAT Tour' for Lionel Messi Visit

Tuesday, May 19, 2026
5 min read
Satadru Dutta Sues Over Chaotic 'GOAT Tour' for Lionel Messi Visit

Satadru Dutta, the sports organizer who put together that huge ‘GOAT Tour’ for Lionel Messi to come to India, is now suing. He’s taken action against former West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas and ex-DG Rajiv Kumar over how completely chaotic the whole thing turned out to be.

That visit to Kolkata, right at the Salt Lake Stadium on December 13th, just blew up. It wasn't smooth at all. A bunch of VIPs and officials got into the venue, apparently without any real access. People who had paid good money for tickets? They couldn’t even see Messi properly because of the mismanagement. That quick exit by the footballer just set off a massive riot. Angry fans started vandalizing the stadium.

This immediately turned into a political mess. Aroop Biswas got dragged into the fire. People were pointing fingers at him for poor planning and management of the entire event. Dutta himself got arrested for the incident. He spent thirty-seven days locked up before finally getting bail.

Months later, Dutta came out. He claimed he was just the scapegoat. He felt the whole controversy was rigged against him. He pointed the finger at Biswas, saying the minister interfered with how things were supposed to run. And he accused the organizers of pressuring them to hand out extra access passes.

After the TMC lost the recent elections, Dutta decided he wouldn't just sit there. He vowed to sue the party. He felt years of work were ruined, his reputation totally damaged. He also mentioned wanting Messi back in Kolkata someday. And not just him. He even talked about getting Cristiano Ronaldo to visit later on.

Then the political side stepped in. West Bengal Sports Minister Nisith Pramanik finally spoke up. He said the BJP government decided that the people who messed up the GOAT Tour wouldn't get away with it.

Pramanik promised they would look into everything. Ticket sales. Security setup. All those administrative slip-ups during that whole Messi visit.

“What happened was extremely unfortunate and condemnable,” Pramanik said. He went on to say he had asked for all the files related to the Messi episode. They’ll examine it thoroughly. Then they’ll talk it over with the Chief Minister. If they find any corruption or weirdness, action will be taken.

He also threw shade at the TMC. He alleged they promoted nepotism and corruption. He claimed the previous government ignored the Centre’s offers for decent coaches and training support. And he announced they were going to tear down that controversial football sculpture outside the stadium.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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