The All Indian Football Federation today accused former head coach Igor Stimac of making comments ‘apparently with the sole intent of maligning the AIFF and showing its personnel in poor light’, saying that the Croatian’s recent comments were not befitting of a professional who has served the organisation for over 5 years and was extended full support during this period.

The AIFF also blamed former General Secretary Shaji Prabhakaran for failing to follow specific instructions with respect to Stimac’s new contract, which he signed in 2023. “The Core Committee of the AIFF, under the chairmanship of Vice President Mr. N Haris, met in advance and proposed to the AIFF that Mr. Stimac could be offered a two-year contract with a monthly salary of US$ 30,000 from January 2024 and to instruct the legal team to finalise the contract ‘with a termination clause favourable to AIFF’.

“The then Secretary General and AIFF legal consultant negotiated and finalised and the then Secretary General signed the contract with Mr. Stimac. The executed contract provides for a salary raise to US$ 30,000 per month from February 2024-January 2025 (as approved by the Core Committee) and US$40,000 per month from February 2024-January 2026 (without Core Committee approval for the said amount). The specific instructions regarding inserting termination clauses favourable to AIFF were also not followed before executing the contract. However, certain clauses for termination for cause were retained in the contract.”

The AIFF also acknowledged Stimac using an astrologer’s help to pick his team and starting XIs, saying that they also took steps to end it.

“The new AIFF leadership was shocked to note his dependence on an astrologer to determine player’s call ups, team selections and took immediate necessary action to end the same,” the statement said.

Stimac had accused the AIFF of failing to provide his players with GPS vests for over 200 days, since the equipment was lost in transit to the Hangzhou Asian Games in October.

“These are expensive gadgets and multiple attempts were made to recover the baggage without avail. When it became clear that recovery was unlikely, new devices were ordered and arrived in India in March 2024 after completion of essential procedural formalities. The vests were immediately made available to the team for the all-important leg of the FIFA World Cup qualifier starting from day one of the Bhubaneshwar camp, i.e. 10th May 2024 onwards.”

The AIFF has also accused Stimac of making false comments about the number of support staff provided to him during the AFC National Coaches Conference held in Malaysia in May. Stimac had publicly stated that he had only four support staff, but the AIFF said he always had a contingent of between 13 and 16 support staff, while the Federation also had no objections to any requests for additions to his staff, just like at the AFC Asian Cup, when India appointed Trevor Sinclair to Stimac’s staff.

In last week’s press conference, Stimac stated that he had undergone heart surgery while he was in charge of the national team. The AIFF responded to it saying, “The AIFF is also shocked to note from Mr. Stimac’s public statements that he underwent heart surgery during his engagement with the AIFF. He has irresponsibly blamed the AIFF for causing his heart ailment, attempting to deflect the serious matter of his not having been medically fit to render coaching services and his failure to formally disclose the same to the AIFF.”

The AIFF has said that a few players from the national team shared concerns about his attitude and tactics on many occasions.

“Despite all the support, the coach always sought to deflect blame and according to him everything and everyone else was wrong and responsible for any given situation except himself. This sentiment was also shared by various players who had brought their concerns regarding Mr. Stimac’s coaching style and tactics to the attention of the AIFF on multiple occasions.”

The statement also said that Stimac’s conduct, combined with the lack of results recently had made the status quo unsustainable, adding that the AIFF had acted in national interest by offering Stimac the chance to part ways on mutual terms – an offer which the Croatian had refused, making what the federation termed unreasonable and unprofessional demands in response.