Former Indian Football Coach Igor Stimac To ‘Open the Cards’ Tomorrow on His Sacking, Says ‘Tried To Help in Whatever Way’

Former Indian Football head coach Igor Stimac will hold a press conference on Friday, June 21. The Croatian was sacked after the Indian football team failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

Stimac also threatened to sue All India Football Federation (AIFF) after he was sacked. 56-year-old coach took X (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday to announce that he is willing to have a “friendly chat session” with Indian journalists. He asked the Indian media fraternity to “join in” at 14:00 IST on 21-06-24.

“Hello my dear friends from Indian Media, I’m sure you, alike me, are stressed, disturbed and worried having seen the state of the national football over the last few months. You have every right to know the flow of events that put us here,” Stimac stated on X.

Hello my dear friends from Indian Media,

I'm sure you, alike me, are stressed, disturbed and worried having seen the state of the national football over the last few months.

You have every right to know the flow of events that put us here.

— Igor Štimac (@stimac_igor) June 20, 2024

Also Read | Igor Stimac pens emotional note after sacking as Team India head coach.

“I am a true INDIAN and I tried to help in whatever way I could. Let’s join in a friendly chat session at 14:00 IST on 21-06-24 and open the cards for the last time! Jai Hind!”

After sacking Stimac, the AIFF in a release stated that the decision was taken due to the “disappointing outcome of the Senior Men’s National Team’s FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification campaign”.

Stimac, however, hit back at the Indian football federation, terming the decision as “unethical”. He accused AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey of breaching his contract multiple times. “Publishing something like this before reaching the conversation with me is blatantly unprofessional and unethical,” Stimac wrote to AIFF in an email over the statement of his sacking.