Kolkata: Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly has lodged a complaint against a portfolio holder of an Argentine football fan club for allegedly making derogatory and malicious remarks about him on social media.
Ganguly has also sent a legal notice to the accused and is likely to file a defamation suit seeking damages of around Rs 50 crore, sources said.
The complaint stems from events following Argentine football icon Lionel Messi’s visit to the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) on December 13. The visit was marred by chaos as thousands of Argentina and Messi fans grew restless due to alleged mismanagement, leading to large-scale vandalism of public property and attacks on police personnel. Police later arrested the prime organiser of the event, Shatadru Dutta.
According to the complaint, the accused has been identified as Uttam Saha, who allegedly made derogatory remarks about Ganguly in a video uploaded on social media. In the footage, Saha purportedly held the former India captain responsible for the chaotic situation and referred to Dutta as a “stooge” of Ganguly. After the video came to his notice, Ganguly issued a legal notice to Saha and also lodged a complaint at the Cyber Crime Police Station.
In his complaint, Ganguly alleged that the accused knowingly made false, hateful, offensive and defamatory statements against him. He further claimed that the allegations had no factual basis and that the comments had caused serious damage to his reputation and public image.