India’s head coach Igor Stimac has been handed a two-match suspension after his red card against Kuwait in the SAFF Championship match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on June 27, Sportstar can confirm.
Additionally, the SAFF Championship disciplinary committee has imposed a fine of USD 500 (INR 41,000) for the red card offense.
Stimac was given a consecutive red card in his second game in the tournament, after being sent off against Pakistan in the tournament-opener, on June 21.
Against Kuwait, Stimac received a yellow card in the 61st minute after getting involved in the match physically.
Hamad Alqallaf pushed Mahesh down, which led to the Croat grabbing the ball and pausing play. Ideally, that should have been warning enough, but the criticism continued from Stimac’s end.
In the 81st minute, the fourth official called the referee and alerted him about the Indian coach’s behaviour on the touchline. And in a flash, Alomgir reached for his pocket and brandished a red card for Stimac.
Indian Football team head Coach Igor Stimac was shown a red card shortly after a stand-off with the referee, against Kuwait. | Photo Credit: Murali Kumar K / The Hindu
“I don’t know about the second one [the red card]. We were there, but I could not hear anything. The fourth official called the referee and just asked him to show him the card. A Kuwaiti player was saying bad words to the coach [Stimac], but the referee did not see anything. He abused, but only our coach got the red card. It is not right,” India’s assistant coach Mahesh Gawli said.
The suspension means he will not be able to be in the dugout for the remaining part of the tournament, should India qualify for the final, on July 4.
India, having finished second in its group, faces Lebanon tomorrow and will hope to continues its Intercontinental Cup form here too, where it beats the Cedars to clinch the title.
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