The Lionel Messi Kolkata incident refuses to die down. The Argentine football legend is back home, but his brief three-day trip to India has caused equal distress and joy. While the Mumbai and Delhi legs were successful, the first stop in Kolkata is what got the tour off to a controversial start as fans vandalised the stadium and all hell broke loose. As several parties and individuals, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, expressed regret over the incident, Sourav Ganguly got caught in the entire affair through no fault of his own. The former India cricket captain’s name was dragged into the controversy after Uttam Saha, president of the Argentina Fan Club of Kolkata, linked Ganguly to the incident.
In response, Sourav Ganguly has filed a defamation case against Uttam Saha at Lalbazar police station, seeking ₹50 crore in compensation. Ganguly's complaint describes Saha's remarks as "false, malicious, offensive, and defamatory," accusing him of deliberately attempting to harm his reputation. However, Saha shows no signs of backing down, vowing to deliver a strong rebuttal.
"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," Saha told ANI.
What exactly happened?
Saha alleged that Ganguly had played a key role in Messi's Kolkata visit, acting as the middleman between the organisers and the Argentine superstar. In reality, Ganguly was indeed present at the stadium that day, but he was seated in a separate section away from the chaos on the pitch. As the situation spiralled out of control with fans invading the field, the former cricketer left the venue early, visibly disappointed by the turn of events.
The controversy transpired when Messi's appearance in Kolkata – the opening leg of his GOAT India Tour 2025 – turned chaotic at Salt Lake Stadium. Fans, frustrated that VIPs and politicians crowded around the football legend on the pitch, complained they could barely catch a glimpse of him despite paying hefty ticket prices. In anger, spectators vandalised parts of the stadium, ripping up seats, throwing objects, and invading the pitch, blaming organisers for mismanagement and poor planning.
{{/usCountry}}The controversy transpired when Messi's appearance in Kolkata – the opening leg of his GOAT India Tour 2025 – turned chaotic at Salt Lake Stadium. Fans, frustrated that VIPs and politicians crowded around the football legend on the pitch, complained they could barely catch a glimpse of him despite paying hefty ticket prices. In anger, spectators vandalised parts of the stadium, ripping up seats, throwing objects, and invading the pitch, blaming organisers for mismanagement and poor planning.
{{/usCountry}}In the aftermath, West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigned, with CM Mamata Banerjee accepting it and temporarily taking charge of the portfolio. The state government also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising IPS officers Piyush Pandey, Javed Shamim, Supratim Sarkar, and Muralidhar, to thoroughly investigate the incident.
Despite the rocky start, Messi proceeded smoothly with the rest of his tour, visiting Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi, before concluding with a stop at the Vantara animal sanctuary in Jamnagar prior to departure.