Stimac's behavior validates AIFF's contract termination, declares football body

The All India Football Federation AIFF on Monday accused ousted coach Igor Stimac of making attempts to show the countrys football fraternity in a bad light in international conferences saying excuses and failures became emblematic of his tumultuous fiveyear tenureIn a strong rebuttal to the series of allegations made against the AIFF by the former mens team head coach the federation said it left no stone unturned in its effort to provide the gaffer with everything he had asked for to lift the teams performanceIn a long statement the AIFF said Stimacs sole intention of calling the press conference four days after his sacking was to malign the federationThis conduct by Stimac has only reinforced the AIFFs belief that the right decision was made with just cause to terminate his contract and move forward in the interests of Indian football the AIFF said in the statementLaunching a stinging attack on AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey Stimac had said the sooner he leaves the post the better it would be for the future of football in the country where the globally loved sport is not growing at allThe AIFF rejected Stimacs claimsMr Stimac was given full autonomy to function including selections of venues support staff choice of travel days as per his communication with the team manager His specific requests especially for various support staff of his choice were always supported by the AIFF in the interests of the national team The AIFF negotiated with clubs and FSDL AIFFs commercial partner to have players released to give the coach maximum days for preparation often beyond the FIFA window the federation said in its defenceStimac got the boot following the teams failure to reach the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers following which he made some serious allegations against his former employersHe said Indian football is imprisoned and blamed Chaubey for most of the problems besetting the game in the countryExcept the request for a charter flight to Abha Saudi Arabia for which he was informed in a timely manner of the logistical challenges of providing the same every other demand of his was met the AIFF saidAlso Read Sooner Chaubey leaves better itrsquoll be for Indian football Igor StimacThe federation also responded to Stimacs claim that the team was forced to train without GPS vests for more than 200 daysMr Stimac is aware that the teams GPS equipment was lost by the airline in transit during teams travel in September 2023 from New Delhi to Hangzhou for the Asian GamesThese 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 formalitiesThe vests were immediately made available to the team for the allimportant leg of the FIFA World Cup qualifier While it is true that the team did not have access to the GPS vests for approximately 50 days of training and match play the coachs statement that GPS equipment was not available for over 200 days is obviously misleading and an attempt to exaggerate the matter for effectCroatian World Cupper Stimac was appointed as the India head coach following the departure of his predecessor Stephen Constantine in the summer of 2019In his last interaction with the media the 56yearold revealed that he was given a final warning before the Asian Cup merely for trying to convince the AIFF about the importance of the World Cup QualifiersThe AIFF countered by saying that the coach tried to show Indian football in poor light when he was representing the federation at the 3rd AFC National Coaches Conference in Malaysia between May 79In his interaction with the AFC officials and the hosts Mr Stimac publicly stated that he had only four support staff as the coach of Indias Senior Mens National Team It is well known that Mr Stimac always had a contingent of between 13 to 16 support staff for every camp and tournament In fact for the Asian Cup he insisted on having an additional goalkeeper coach and a freekick specialistThe AIFF never objected to these additional demands It is evident that Mr Stimac intentionally misrepresented facts to gain sympathy from other nations coaches and the AFC at the reputational cost of India the AIFF and Indian footballA day after he got the boot Stimac threatened to file a lawsuit against the AIFF in the FIFA Tribunal if his outstanding dues USD 360000 were not cleared within 10 daysThe national federation said when his contract came up for renewal in October 2023 the core committee of the AIFF under the chairmanship of vice president N A Haris met in advance and proposed that Stimac could be offered a twoyear contract with a monthly salary of USD 30000 from January 2024 and instructed the legal team to finalise the contract with a termination clause favourable to AIFFThe executed contract provides for a salary raise to USD 30000 per month from February 2024January 2025 as approved by the Core Committee and USD 40000 per month from February 2024January 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 saidStimac also said that the stress over Indian football affected his health as he was required to undergo a procedure to treat a heart condition The AIFF expressed shock at this claimIt is ironic that someone who was the prime person controlling the fortunes of the national team considers that Indian football is imprisoned and has not grown It is fashionable to blame the entire system on the way out especially when you do not wish to take any personal responsibilityWith agency inputs