Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has filed a ₹50 crore civil defamation suit against Uttam Saha, president of the Argentina Football Fan Club in Kolkata. Uttam Saha made a few statements about Sourav Ganguly and linked him to the chaotic Lionel Messi event at Salt Lake Stadium. Ganguly has also lodged a police complaint at Kolkata’s Cyber Cell and also filed a defamatory case alleging that Saha’s remarks are false, malicious, and defamatory.
Messi came to Kolkata for the GOAT India Tour, but fans vandalised the stadium as they were unable to watch Messi due to poor crowd management, VIP prioritisation, and security lapses. Thousands of fans were left disappointed, and the event faced widespread criticism.
According to the interview, Uttam Saha claimed that Ganguly and the main organiser, Satadru Dutta, had business ties; he also alleged that Ganguly even made a deal at the Messi event at the Salt Lake stadium.
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And after that, the Indian legend asked Mr Uttam to delete all the videos. “Delete the video and all related content from social media and digital platforms, publish a written unconditional public apology addressed to Ganguly, and pay Rs 50 crore as compensatory and punitive damages to the former captain for the severe reputational, emotional, and institutional harm suffered,” Sourav Ganguly asked.
What did Sourav Ganguly say in his complaint?
In his complaint, Ganguly clarified that he attended the event only as a guest and had no involvement in planning or executing the programme. As per TOI, Ganguly wrote in his complaint, "I am the former captain of the Indian cricket team, former president of the BCCI, and currently president of the Cricket Association of Bengal. I enjoy a very high public reputation and goodwill in India and abroad, built over decades of professional career and public service in sport administration.”\
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He also added in the complaint, "This complaint is filed with reference to a video interview published and widely disseminated online on or about December 14-15. It shows the interview of a person calling himself Uttam Saha. The video contains knowingly false, malicious, scandalous, and defamatory imputations against me, imputing dishonesty, corrupt motives, improper patronage, misuse of influence in sport administration, and other materially false allegations that have gravely harmed my reputation and mental peace.”
Ganguly, who has served as BCCI president and currently heads the Cricket Association of Bengal, said the lawsuit aims to protect his hard-earned reputation and deter the spread of misinformation.
Uttam Saha’s reaction
After getting all the complaints, Uttam Saha showed no sign of backing down and said to ANI, "We will give a reply to Sourav Ganguly, as this is a football ground, not cricket. He is a great player, and we respect him, but if anything wrong happens on the football ground, we will not spare anyone, whether it is Sourav Ganguly or anybody else.”
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The case is now being handled by the police and respective departments.
