Kolkata: The controversy over the flop show and chaos during Lionel Messi’s Kolkata leg of the GOAT tour refuses to die.
Five days after the Argentine football superstar walked out of the Salt Lake Stadium in a huff amid utter mismanagement, followed by angry fans throwing bottles and chairs, former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly filed a defamation suit against Uttam Saha, president of the Argentina Fan Club in Kolkata.
Ganguly has sought Rs 50 crore in damages after he was linked to the Salt Lake Stadium fiasco.
The lawsuit, filed at Kolkata Police headquarters Lalbazar, claimed that Saha’s allegations, without any factual basis, have harmed Ganguly’s reputation.
Saha had claimed that Ganguly played a role in the Messi event, as the middle man between main organiser Satadru Dutta and the Argentine.
Describing Saha’s “false, malicious, offensive, and defamatory remarks”, Ganguly accused him of acting knowingly to damage his reputation.
Ganguly, who is currently president of Cricket Association of Bengal, clarified that he attended the stadium event as a guest, denying any official connection with the Messi programme.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself apologised for the chaotic events that unfolded on December 13 at Salt Lake Stadium.
Satadru was arrested by police, while Bengal’s DGP and other senior police officials have been asked to show cause.
