Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman on Thursday said that the Argentina football team allegedly “cheated” the state by not coming to play a match even after receiving payment.
Abdurahiman said that he had been keen on bringing the Argentina football team and Lionel Messi to Kerala for a match, according to NDTV. He said, "For that, I had held several discussions.
"It was also not an easy task to find sponsors to arrange the Rs 250 crore required to be paid to the international football team, but, after receiving the money, the Argentine football team allegedly cheated us. We did not expect such a betrayal from them—not turning up despite the promise."
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Abdurahiman expresses his grievance
Abdurahiman informed that he found out that Argentina had reportedly done the same with 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," Abdurahiman said, as per NDTV reports.
He also reportedly said, "It has disappointed the football lovers in Kerala. I don't know who to express my disappointment to."
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The minister in November last year had said that the Argentina football team and Lionel Messi would come to Kerala in March this year.
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Regarding his decision to contest from Tirur assembly constituency instead of Tanur, from where he had won twice, the minister reportedly said his move was not motivated by a search for a winnable seat.
He said that his reason for contesting from Tirur was that it was his native place, where there was a lack of development and several public grievances. At the same time, he asserted that his absence from Tanur will not result in the loss of that seat.
The Assembly elections in Kerala will be held on April 9.
