Crossword Genius

Inflamed after Conservative intentionally broke the rules (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cheated

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'intentionally broke the rules' is the definition.
(to cheat is to break the rules of a game)

'inflamed after conservative' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'inflamed' could be 'heated' ('heat' can be a synonym of 'inflame') and 'heated' is found within the answer.
'conservative' could be 'c' (UK political abbreviation) and 'c' is located in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for cheated that I've seen before include "Defeated through deceit" , "stung" , "taken for a ride" , "Behaved dishonestly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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