‘Messi’ goes around Tirur mocking Abdurahiman, who promised to bring football legend to Kerala
The UDYF organised a symbolic protest with a convoy of cars and a fake Messi to taunt LDF candidate V Abdurahiman in Tirur.
The UDYF organised a symbolic protest with a convoy of cars and a fake Messi to taunt LDF candidate V Abdurahiman in Tirur.
The UDYF organised a symbolic protest with a convoy of cars and a fake Messi to taunt LDF candidate V Abdurahiman in Tirur.
Satire is a powerful tool during election campaigns, and the youth wing of UDF (UDYF) in Tirur staged an elaborate one to mock LDF candidate V Abdurahiman, whose tenure as sports minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan government descended into infamy over the failure to bring football superstar Lionel Messi to Kerala.
The UDYF organised a ‘symbolic protest’ in the constituency on Monday resembling a civic reception for ‘Messi’. A convoy of luxury cars drove along Tirur Town in the Malappuram district, with an individual in a ‘Messi’ mask emerging through a sunroof to wave at the public. The organisers also lined up scores of youngsters, including children in blue and white of the Argentine football team, for the parade.
“Abdurahiman deceived the people of Kerala by repeatedly promising to bring Messi. How can the people trust such a person to be your MLA?” said A P Sabah, president of the Youth League, Tirur Assembly Constituency.
Sabah, who was one of the organisers of the symbolic protest, said it was a planned event part of their campaign to expose the opposition candidate. Recently, Abdurahiman said the Argentine Football Association cheated Kerala after accepting at least $16 million to bring Messi and the World Cup-winning side to the state.
For more than a year, Abdurahiman repeatedly promised football fans in Kerala that Messi and his Argentina side would visit Kerala. Different excuses were given with each passing FIFA window, and the last possible chance in November 2025 also did not materialise. That was because FIFA did not give security clearance to the Jawaharlal Nehru International (JNI) Stadium at Kaloor in Kochi for the match.
The incident caused much embarrassment to Abdurahiman, who had tagged along with a sponsor, promising the football fans, not just a match involving Messi but even an open-bus parade and a fan interaction with one of the greatest footballers of all time.
The LDF had initially announced Abdurahiman as a candidate from Tanur, the constituency he won in the 2016 and 2021 polls. However, Abdurahiman refused to accept Tanur and secured a seat in the neighbouring Tirur constituency, where he is contesting against IUML's Kurukkoli Moideen.