After Australia won the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup on 19 November, a photo of Australian cricketer Mitchell Marsh, who had his feet propped up on the trophy, went viral on social media.
Indian users expressed resentment towards Marshall and the photograph, calling it a 'disrespectful' gesture towards the cup.
Days after this, several media organisations reported that a First Information Report (FIR) had been filed against the Australian cricketer in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh for his act.
Who published these reports?: Several media organisations, including Free Press Journal, Sportskeeda, and Mint published reports about a FIR being filed against Marshall in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh for "offending the sentiments of Indian cricket team fans."
An archive of this post can be seen here.
(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)
An archived version of this article can be accessed here.
(Source: Sportskeeda/Screenshot)
An archived version of this article can be seen here.
(Source: Mint/Screenshot)
Right-wing propaganda website OpIndia, which has been known to share misinformation, also published this on their page.
An archive of this page can be seen here.
(Source: OpIndia/Screenshot)
(Archived versions posts sharing this claim can be seen here, here, and here.)
But..?: There is no FIR against Marshall at any police station under Aligarh Police, the police said in a statement.
The Quint contacted the complainant, who confirmed that he had filed a complaint – not a FIR – against Marshall and sent letters to the prime minister and the Sports Ministry.
How did we find out?: All reports mentioned that the FIR was filed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, and identified the complainant as one Pandit Keshav, who alleged that Marsh's action of putting his feet on the Cricket World Cup trophy had "deeply offended the sentiments of Indian cricket team fans."
Aligarh Police's statement: In a video statement, Aligarh Police's Superintendent (SP City) Mrigank Shekhar Pathak confirmed that "no FIR had been registered in any police station by Aligarh Police, nor any cognisance of any such complaint has been taken."
The complaint: The Quint's reporter tracked down the complainant, who said that the police had filed a complaint in the matter.
He said, "by putting his feet on something that Indians consider sacred [the trophy], Marsh has disrespected both religious and cultural sentiments of the nation."
The complainant stated that he would "wait for them [the police] to proceed", but would move the court if they did not.
He posted two letters – one to the prime minister, the other to the Sports Ministry – demanding that Marsh be "handed a lifetime ban from cricket," or, at least, never to be given an Indian visa.
The Quint also accessed a copy of his complaint in Hindi, which misidentifies Marsh as the team's captain and can be seen here.
The letter calls Marsh the team's captain and says that he has "disrespected 140 crore Indians."
(Source: Accessed by The Quint)
Conclusion: The Aligarh Police has neither filed a FIR, nor registered a complaint against Australian cricketer Mitchell Marsh for keeping his feet on the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Trophy.
(With inputs from Shuvaditya Bose and Piyush Rai.)
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