Kolkata: Two months into his stint as West Bengal Governor, La. Ganesan copped criticism for pushing Indian football talisman Sunil Chhetri, in order to get clicked during the Durand Cup prize distribution ceremony here on Sunday night.
The 38-year-old Indian captain added an elusive Durand Cup title to his illustrious career when he led Bengaluru FC to their maiden crown in Asia's oldest football tournament following a hard-fought 2-1 victory over their Indian Super League rivals Mumbai City FC at the Salt Lake Stadium.
But the prize distribution ceremony turned controversial when Chhetri was being pushed by Ganesan while the trophy was being handed over to the player in the presence of state Sports Minister Aroop Biswas.
Realising that he's not in the "photo frame", Ganesan pushed Chettri.
There has been no response yet from Bengaluru FC or the governor's office, but the video of the incident went viral and Ganesan was widely slammed on various social media platforms.
"Disgraceful," wrote former Indian opener-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra on his Twitter handle.
"Five seconds that show you everything that's wrong with Indian sport. It seems that they won the Durand Cup, not Sunil Chhetri and Bengaluru FC!," wrote Joy Bhattacharja, a former Kolkata Knight Riders team director.