India, April 2 -- Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman has accused Argentina football team, led by Lionel Messi, of "cheating" and alleged a scam after claiming the team failed to honour its commitment to play a friendly match in the state despite receiving full payment.

Speaking to a local channel, Abdurahiman said Kerala had made extensive preparations to host the reigning World Cup champions, describing the effort as a project driven by both ambition and emotion.

"I really wanted the Argentina team and Lionel Messi to come to Kerala and play a match here. We held several discussions for that. It was not easy to find sponsors to arrange the Rs.250 crore required to bring a team of that stature," he said.

However, he alleged that desp...