Did AIFF fall for a teen’s prank? Video claims fake ‘Xavi’ email fooled officials

The development came amid speculation that Xavi, who recently managed Spanish giants Barcelona, had applied for the position of head coach of the Indian national team

In an embarrassing turn of events for the All India Football Federation (AIFF), reports have emerged that the governing body was allegedly pranked by a youth posing as Spanish football legend Xavi Hernandez.

The development came amid speculation that Xavi, who recently managed Spanish giants Barcelona, had applied for the position of head coach of the Indian national team.

Several media reports, including a source within the AIFF quoted by PTI on Friday, initially claimed that Xavi had sent an official email expressing interest in the role.

"Yes, he (Xavi) applied for the job of the Indian senior men's team football head coach. He has himself mailed his application to the people in the technical committee, and it looks like he was very much interested in the job," a source in the AIFF told PTI on Friday.

"However, those tasked with the responsibility of recommending the shortlist of coaches to the executive committee for final approval federation know that it's difficult,” the person added.

However, Spanish media outlets denied these claims on Saturday. It has since come to light that the AIFF may have fallen victim to a prank email sent from a fake account created by a 19-year-old Indian youth.

A video circulating on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) shows what is alleged to be the fake email sent to the AIFF, bearing the name of Xavi Hernandez. According to a report in Hindustan Times, the youth created an email ID and sent a forged application to the AIFF.

Mathrubhumi English has not independently verified the authenticity of the email or the video.

The experienced Anglo-Cypriot Stephen Constantine, Stefan Tarkovic of Slovakia and home-bred Khalid Jamil were among three candidates shortlisted on Wednesday by the technical committee of the AIFF.

Out of the three, Jamil appears to be the frontrunner to replace Manolo Marquez, who quit earlier this month after a string of poor performances by the national team. The side's FIFA ranking has plummeted to 133, which is its lowest in nine years.

The AIFF had invited applications for the top job on July 4, with July 13 as the deadline. It received 170 applications, which included big names like former Liverpool stars Robbie Fowler and Harry Kewell.

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