Sourav Ganguly files ₹50-cr defamation suit against Argentina Fan Club chief over Messi Kolkata event row

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has filed a ₹50 crore defamation suit against Uttam Saha, the president of the Argentina Fan Club. The legal move follows Saha’s public claims regarding Ganguly's role during Lionel Messi's chaotic visit to Salt Lake Stadium on 13 December.

Ganguly filed the complaint at Lalbazar, describing Saha's remarks as “false, malicious, and defamatory”. He stated that the comments have caused significant harm to his reputation and lack any factual basis. Clarifying his presence, Ganguly said that he had no official connection to the event and attended only as a guest.

Event organisers had invited Ganguly and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan as chief guests for Messi's Kolkata event. However, the scene turned into chaos. Shah Rukh Khan reportedly stayed in his car for 15-20 minutes at the VVIP entrance before leaving without entering the stadium.

“Serious allegations are being made publicly without any factual basis,” Ganguly said in his complaint, reported India Today. Saha had alleged that Ganguly acted as a middleman for Satadru Dutta, the event manager who was arrested following the mismanagement.

Raj Chakraborty files police complaint

The legal fallout has extended to the Bengali film industry. Director and MLA Raj Chakraborty has filed an FIR against “misogynist” trolls targeting his wife, actress Subhashree Ganguly. Subhashree attended a “meet and greet” with Messi at a city hotel before the Argentine footballer's arrival at Salt Lake stadium.

Subhashree was subject to trolling after the actress shared pictures with Messi on social media. “The event's PR team invited her as a representative of Tollywood to attend a meet and greet session at a city hotel. She was informed it would be a 30-minute session,” Chakraborty explained to reporters. Director Kaushik Ganguly was also a guest at the hotel event.

Chakraborty clarified that the photos were taken between 10:00 am and 10:15 am, early in the morning. He denied claims that Subhashree blocked the fans' view of Messi. “She and Sourav Ganguly were seated in a tent inside the stadium, waiting for the Chief Minister’s arrival,” he explained.

Addressing the fan backlash, Chakraborty said that Subhashree did not intend to upset fans who had paid thousands for tickets. He blamed technical issues for the poor timing of her social media posts. “Due to signal jammers at the venue, the upload was delayed. The timing was unfortunate when the post finally went live,” he said. He said she recognised the issue, but “I advised her against deleting the post”.

He concluded that the focus should remain on those responsible for the event's mismanagement, rather than the guests.