The exact nature of Igor Stimac’s punishment for his red card against Kuwait in the SAFF championship match will be known by Thursday, June 29, Sportstar has learned.
The Indian head coach, who already served a one-match suspension after seeing a red card in India’s opening against Pakistan, will be absent for the Blue Tigers’ semifinal clash against Lebanon for his second red card of the tournament in the home team’s final group-stage match against Kuwait on Tuesday.
India assistant coach Mahesh Gawli slammed the level of refereeing and criticised the decision to send off Stimac, urging SAFF to look into the matter in his post-match press conference.
READ | Stimac shown red card during India vs Kuwait SAFF Championship game
“We never discuss refereeing outside. Just to be clear,” All India Football Federation (AIFF) general-secretary Shaji Prabhakaran told Sportstar when he was asked to comment on the situation.
The general argument post Stimac’s red card against Kuwait was that the India head coach should have exercised more caution, having just come back from a one-match suspension. Asked to comment about Stimac’s reaction on the touchlines, Prabhakaran said, “No comments on that. That is an internal issue and will be discussed internally.”
A burning question right now is the severity of Stimac’s punishment. This being his second red card, there is a possibility that the Croat could be penalised with more than just a one-match suspension. Prabhakaran said that nothing is clear right now, and the disciplinary committee will look into it.
“We have sent the full and official report from our side. Now, it is the job of the disciplinary committee to look into the situation. Nothing can be said for sure at the moment. It might be a one-match ban, a two-match ban, or a three-match ban. Everything depends on what the disciplinary committee decides,” a member of the match commissioners team told Sportstar on the condition of anonymity.
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