Indian football's apex body, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sacked Igor Stimac after seeing the Blue Tigers' poor performance on the field and their failure to progress further at the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2026. (More Football News)
In a press conference held post the sacking, Stimac made various allegations towards AIFF and has said that they failed to give importance to the Qualifiers and were more focused towards the Asian Cup.
The Croatian further revealed that he was given a final warning by the AIFF for trying them to convince that the World Cup Qualifiers were more important that the Asian Cup. The pressure was so much that Stimac said he ended up going to the hospital and undergoing a surgery as he could not handle the stress from the authority.
"After I told them that the World Cup Qualifiers were more important than Asian Cup. I received final warning from AIFP. When I received the final warning on December 2. no one knows this, I finished in the hospital. I was disturbed with everything going on; stressed from the obvious problems. I had an immediate surgery on my heart. I wasn't ready to speak to anyone or find excuses. I was ready to put myself on the line to prepare my team for the Asian Cup to give the best shot," Igor Stimac said in the press conference on Friday, June 21.
"Not surprised about parting ways. Most of my senior players knew I had decided to leave even after had qualified for the third round. It was impossible for me to go on without proper support, full of lies and people who had only private interests," he further added.
Stimac had promised that he would be making revelations about the Indian football and its state. In his X post, Stimac thanked he Indian football fans and the team management for their backing throughout his 5-year tenure.
The Croatian's meeting with the AIFF officials on June 17 resulted to be his final day in the hotseat as the officials decided to cut ties with him after a list of poor performances under his managerial stint.
