More violations have surfaced in the agreement between Reporter Broadcasting Company and the Argentina Football Association (AFA) to bring the Argentina football team to Kerala, including the sponsor's representation of the state government without authorisation.

Questions have been raised over who authorised the sponsor to sign an agreement in the name of the government and how government details were included in the agreement before official approval was granted.

Records show that the AFA cancelled its agreement with the sponsor twice after the latter delayed payments.

The sponsor had signed an agreement with the AFA on December 20, 2024, while government approval for the initiative was obtained only 18 days later. The government was not informed about the agreement at the time.

The agreement also stated that the project was being undertaken with the cooperation of the state government. However, the Sports Department has found that the state government and the sponsor have not signed any agreement or memorandum of understanding regarding the Argentina team's proposed visit.

The documents related to the AFA agreement were not shared with the Sports Department. Even when the agreement was renewed twice later, the sponsor did not formally inform the government about it.

The agreement has also raised questions over the inclusion of former Sports Minister V Abdurahiman's official email address. It was one of two email addresses provided by the sponsor for communication.

U Sharafali, who was then president of the Kerala Sports Council, was listed as a witness to the agreement. Apart from Reporter Broadcasting Company managing director Anto Augustine, Sharafali was the only person from Kerala who signed the document. Questions have now been raised over who authorised him to sign it.

The agreement also stated that the Sports Department would arrange security for the Argentina team. This has raised questions about who provided such an assurance before the government had formally approved the project.

Sports Department sought help to waive penalty
The Sports Department had also sought the intervention of the Indian ambassador to Argentina to waive a $4 million penalty imposed on the sponsor by the AFA for delayed payment, documents show.

A letter sent by the Sports Department to the Indian ambassador in Argentina in July last year sought intervention to have the penalty imposed on Reporter Broadcasting Company waived.

The letter was written by then Sports Department Secretary A P M Mohammed Haneesh on the instructions of former Sports Minister V Abdurahiman. The department cited the need to protect the state's financial interests and described the agreement for the Argentina team's visit as one involving the state government.

The letter appears to contradict Abdurahiman's earlier claim that the state government had not signed an agreement with anyone in connection with the Argentina team's proposed visit.

Inquiry flags procedural lapses
The Sports Department inquiry has flagged a string of violations of the Rules of Business and the Secretariat Office Manual.

Some of the key lapses highlighted in the report are:

Emails cannot substitute for government decisions: A letter or email received by a minister's office does not constitute a government decision. Under the Rules of Business, government business must be processed through the concerned Secretariat department. Communications received by a minister's office are normally routed into the relevant file through the post or current register. The communications have to be examined before the government can issue an order or circular or enter into an agreement.

However, the inquiry report says the government proceeded with the Argentina project based solely on email exchanges between then sports minister V Abdurahiman and a representative of the Argentina Football Association (AFA) over two years from 2022.

Personal staff bypassed department secretary: Government business has to be routed through the respective Secretariat departments, headed by the department secretaries. The inquiry, however, found that the personal staff of the then sports minister bypassed the secretary and directly handled files relating to the Argentina team visit, in violation of the Rules of Business.

Project pushed on private firm's recommendation: Proceeding with the proposed Argentina team visit without official confirmation and solely on the recommendation of private firm 'Goat Ad' was a procedural lapse, the report says. It also flagged violations in the selection of the sponsor, saying the prescribed criteria were not followed.

Multiple departments bypassed: The Secretariat Office Manual stipulates that when a matter concerns more than one department, the views of all concerned departments must be obtained before a decision is taken. Though the Argentina team visit involved the Sports, Finance, Law, Home, Revenue and Local Self-Government departments, besides the Police, Fire and Rescue Services and Health departments, only the Sports Department was involved in processing the matter, the report says.

Finance dept not consulted: The Secretariat Office Manual makes Finance Department approval mandatory for matters having financial implications for the state. The Argentina proposal involved foreign remittances, match fees, advertising revenue, sponsor-related financial transactions, tax liabilities and stadium renovation. Yet, there is no record of the Finance Department having examined the proposal.

Law dept kept out: The manual also requires the Law Department’s opinion to be sought when a matter involves laws, rules, court judgments or agreements requiring legal scrutiny. Despite the project involving foreign agencies, a private sponsor and international financial transactions, it was not referred to the Law Department for examination.