India captain Sunil Chhetri completed his trophy cabinet in Indian football by winning the Durand Cup on Sunday, 18 September. While receiving the coveted trophy Chhetri was pushed aside by La Ganesan, the governor of West Bengal. And all this was done for a photo-op.
Chhetri insulted
Bengaluru FC finally grabbed the one Indian football trophy that was missing from their elusive cabinet after they beat Mumbai City FC 2-1 in the extraordinary summit clash at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Sunday to win the prestigious Durand Cup.
Two decades is a bit of a wait, but if it meant doing it in the blue of Bengaluru, then it was worth every season of trying. Durand Cup Champions – would have been a shame if an Army kid playing football professionally never had the chance to say this. 😉
Come on, BFC! pic.twitter.com/Uw6itY2JKJ— Sunil Chhetri (@chetrisunil11) September 18, 2022
Sunil Chhetri, who was captaining Bengaluru FC on the night, while receiving the coveted trophy was pushed aside by La Ganesan, the governor of West Bengal. And all this was done for a photo-op.
The incident occurred after the match, during the trophy presentation ceremony. La. Ganesan was standing slightly behind Chhetri when the Bengaluru captain was being handed over the trophy and asked for a photograph from the press. It was then spotted that the minister pushed Chhetri to make his way to the middle to pose for the photograph with the trophy.
The act did not go down well with football fans on social media, who slammed the minister for his “shameless behavior” towards India’s legendary footballer.
Here’s the video:
Congratulations to Aroop Biswas, Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs in West Bengal, for winning the Durand Cup 2022. pic.twitter.com/DmC6xL5ClO
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) September 19, 2022
Sunil Chhetri is the most successful player in the history of Indian football, having played for India in 129 games. His goal-scoring record at the international level is one of the highest in the world and currently stands third on the list of active footballers with 84 international goals to his name. The India captain is only behind the legendary footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who have 117 and 86 goals respectively.
Twitter Reactions
Sunil Chhetri vs Acting Governor of West Bengal
Durand 2022 Appearances: 7 – 0
Durand 2022 Goals: 3 – 0
Durand 2022 Minutes played: 573 – 0
Photos with Durand 2022 Trophy: 1 – 13
PadmaShri Awards: 1 – 0
Number of days spent hiding from Police: 0 – 365#SunilChhetri pic.twitter.com/6BVZTY7NYd— Debojyoti Sarkar 🇮🇳 (@djsarkar18) September 18, 2022
Historic!
La Ganesan, Governor of West Bengal wins the ⚽ Durand Cup 2022.
Or atleast, that's what this clip suggests #SunilChhetri pic.twitter.com/jqt0wqUGFM
— विनीत ठाकुर (@yep_vineet) September 19, 2022
WB Governor pushing away captain Sunil Chhetri the winner of Durand cup 2022 to stay in the limelight.
The captain should have walked away pic.twitter.com/kqAPGxjx5j
— Rocks (@naikrakesh) September 19, 2022
#SunilChhetri
What a shameful behavior by west bengal governor La GanesanBut look at Sunil ji..how humble he is🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/mbSXGEZ58M
— Shruti (@kadak_chai_) September 19, 2022
Sunil Chhetri is one of the greatest Indian football players ever, a Padma Shri and Khel Ratna Awardee and currently the third-highest goalscorer in international football among active players (only Ronaldo and Messi have scored more).
And this is how he is treated. No words. pic.twitter.com/UZjSdCvGej
— Azhar (@lonelyredcurl) September 18, 2022
Such a disgraceful act. This is why Indian football is where it is today.
Congratulations to West Bengal Governor La. Ganesan, for winning the #DurandCup 😏
Our apologies Cap you deserve all of our respect ✊🙌#SunilChhetri pic.twitter.com/npQDzGT91X
— 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙠 (@Prateekncmishra) September 18, 2022
You guysss… You went for the head??
Will do you one better… Go for their EXISTENCE 🌝#SunilChhetri #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/tBxeasY78q
— Shubham (@ShubhamJFC) September 19, 2022
Shame Of You Mahn🤦🏻♂️, Nobody Even Knows Who The Heck This Man Is And He So Badly Wants To Be In That Photo By Saying The Goat To Move👎🏻
But The Gesture Of Sunil Chhetri Is Just So Humble🙌🏻
A Living Humble Goat, That's Sunil Chhetri In 4 Words💙 https://t.co/ZY30XPXTEM
— Junius Dominic Robin (@JuniTheAnalyst) September 18, 2022