The Indian Football Association has revealed it was duped by fake emails claiming to be from football royalty Pep Guardiola and Xavi, who were said to have applied to become the country's next national team coach.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed in a statement that the applications, which had reportedly come via email, were not genuine.
'The AIFF received an email furnishing the applications from Spanish coaches Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez,' a statement said. 'The authenticity of their applications could not be confirmed, and it has since emerged that the email applications were not genuine.