New Delhi: Ousted India football coach Igor Stimac on Friday launched a scathing attack on AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, saying the sooner he leaves office, the better it will be for the future of football in the country where the sport loved worldwide does not exist. growing at all.
Stimac was fired as head coach on Monday after the team failed to reach the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifying. A day later, the Croatian threatened to file a case against the All India Football Federation (AIFF) before the FIFA Tribunal if his outstanding dues were not cleared within 10 days.
During a lengthy online press conference on Friday, Stimac said Indian football is "imprisoned" and blamed Chaubey for most of the problems plaguing the game. He also said he was "fed up with the lies and broken promises" during his tenure.
"The sooner Kalyan Chaubey leaves the AIFF, the better it will be for Indian football," Stimac said.
"Football is the most popular sport in the world, but India is the only place where it is not growing," he added.
Stimac was named head coach following the departure of his predecessor Stephen Constantine in March 2019.
A few days after India suffered a defeat against Qatar in the final second round match of the World Cup qualifiers earlier this month, the AIFF sacked Stimac.
Stimac, who was part of the Croatia team that won the bronze medal at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, said he was fired as coach for the first time in his career.
"In my career I have never been fired until now, it is the first time. And it was a mistake: in my response to AIFF I did the same.
"It was impossible for me to continue without enough support, I was tired of lies, broken promises and being surrounded by people who only think about their own interests," said Stimac from Croatia.
The 56-year-old revealed that he received one final warning before the Asian Cup simply for trying to convince the AIFF about the importance of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Stimac said the meeting landed him in the hospital and he underwent surgery to treat a heart condition.
"After telling them that the World Cup qualifiers were more important than the Asia Cup, I received one last warning from the AIFF. When I received the last warning on December 2, no one knew, I ended up in the hospital.
"I was disturbed by everything that was happening; stressed by the obvious problems. I had heart surgery immediately. I wasn't ready to talk to anyone or find excuses.
"I was willing to take risks to prepare my team for the Asian Cup and give my best," Stimac said.
Stimac was fired as head coach on Monday after the team failed to reach the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifying. A day later, the Croatian threatened to file a case against the All India Football Federation (AIFF) before the FIFA Tribunal if his outstanding dues were not cleared within 10 days.
During a lengthy online press conference on Friday, Stimac said Indian football is "imprisoned" and blamed Chaubey for most of the problems plaguing the game. He also said he was "fed up with the lies and broken promises" during his tenure.
"The sooner Kalyan Chaubey leaves the AIFF, the better it will be for Indian football," Stimac said.
"Football is the most popular sport in the world, but India is the only place where it is not growing," he added.
Stimac was named head coach following the departure of his predecessor Stephen Constantine in March 2019.
A few days after India suffered a defeat against Qatar in the final second round match of the World Cup qualifiers earlier this month, the AIFF sacked Stimac.
Stimac, who was part of the Croatia team that won the bronze medal at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, said he was fired as coach for the first time in his career.
"In my career I have never been fired until now, it is the first time. And it was a mistake: in my response to AIFF I did the same.
"It was impossible for me to continue without enough support, I was tired of lies, broken promises and being surrounded by people who only think about their own interests," said Stimac from Croatia.
The 56-year-old revealed that he received one final warning before the Asian Cup simply for trying to convince the AIFF about the importance of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Stimac said the meeting landed him in the hospital and he underwent surgery to treat a heart condition.
"After telling them that the World Cup qualifiers were more important than the Asia Cup, I received one last warning from the AIFF. When I received the last warning on December 2, no one knew, I ended up in the hospital.
"I was disturbed by everything that was happening; stressed by the obvious problems. I had heart surgery immediately. I wasn't ready to talk to anyone or find excuses.
"I was willing to take risks to prepare my team for the Asian Cup and give my best," Stimac said.
