Summary of this article
Kerala Sports Minister Abdurahiman alleged Lionel Messi's Argentina team took money for a match but never showed up
He plans legal action and claims the same happened in five other countries
His constituency switch from Tanur to Tirur is unrelated to the Messi incident and won't impact coalition prospects in Tanur
Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman said on Thursday that Lionel Messi's Argentine national football team allegedly deceived the state by accepting money for a scheduled match but did not fulfill its commitment to play.
Abdurahiman expressed his enthusiasm about bringing the Argentina squad and the global superstar to Kerala for a football fixture. Considerable effort went into organizing the international engagement.
"For that, I had held several discussions. It was also not an easy task to find sponsors to arrange the Rs 250 crore to be paid to the international football team," he told a local news channel.
The minister said the team's actions fell short of expectations after receiving the agreed payment.
"But, after receiving the money, the Argentine football team cheated us. We did not expect such a betrayal from them. Not coming after promising to do so," Abdurahiman said.
During his investigation into the matter, the minister discovered that Argentina had reportedly followed the same course of action in five other countries.
"They took money from those countries, but never went there to play. It is a situation where a case will have to be filed against the Argentine football team, and they will have to pay us compensation," the minister noted.
The cancellation has left football enthusiasts in Kerala unhappy with the outcome, according to Abdurahiman.
"It has disappointed the football lovers in Kerala. I don't know to whom I will tell my disappointment," he remarked.
The project had been announced previously, with Abdurahiman mentioning in November that the Argentina team and Messi would visit Kerala during March.
Messi's No-Show Not Connected To Constituency Change
During the same interaction, Abdurahiman tackled questions surrounding his recent shift in electoral positioning. He opted to enter the fray from Tirur rather than defend his existing seat in Tanur, a constituency he had carried in back-to-back campaigns.
According to the minister, this repositioning was unrelated to calculations about electoral viability or competitive advantage. He chose Tirur because it is his native place, where there is a lack of development and numerous complaints from the people about it, the minister explained.
Abdurahiman maintained that his departure from Tanur posed no threat to his coalition's standing in that constituency. Voters in Kerala will head to polling stations on April 9 for the Assembly selection.
With PTI Inputs
