Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman on Thursday said the Argentine football team had misled the state by not playing the scheduled match despite receiving payment.
Abdurahiman added that he wished the Argentina team and Lionel Messi would visit Kerala for the match.
The minister informed the TV channel and said: “I had several discussions about it. It was also not easy to find sponsors who would ₹250 million will be paid to the international football team. But after receiving the money, the Argentine football team cheated us. We did not expect such a betrayal from them. He won’t come after I promised.”
He said that upon enquiry, he found that Argentina had allegedly carried out similar stunts in five other countries.
“They took money from these countries but never went there to play. It’s a situation where it will be necessary to file a lawsuit against the Argentine soccer team and they will have to pay us compensation,” Abdurahiman said.
He expressed his disappointment, adding that he had been looking forward to their visit, making the team’s alleged deception particularly disheartening.
“It has disappointed football lovers in Kerala. I don’t know who to tell my disappointment,” he mentioned.
Earlier in November, the minister had said that the football team of Argentina and Lionel Messi would play in Kerala this March.
Scheduled match
The match was originally scheduled for 17 November in Kochi, with Argentina playing against Australia at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium. Argentina Football Association officials visited the venue in September as part of La Albiceleste’s preliminary November itinerary during the FIFA international window. However, the match was delayed due to licensing issues and was never officially confirmed, according to HT.
Messi’s visit to India
Later in December, Messi did visit India, but not as part of the national team. His trip was a promotional “GOAT Tour”, during which he took part in fan events across Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi from 13 to 15 December, accompanied by players including Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paulo.
Meanwhile, reacting to his decision to contest from Tirur constituency instead of Tanur where he won twice, Abdurahiman said the move was not driven by electoral advantage. He explained that he chose Tirur, his birthplace, because of its development gaps and numerous grievances raised by the residents. At the same time, he insisted that his absence in Tanur would not threaten the party’s power in that place.
The Kerala assembly elections are scheduled for April 9.
