India football coach Igor Stimac shown red card after moment of madness

A match between India and Pakistan is never complete without its share of drama. The SAFF football championship between the two teams saw another adrenaline-fuelled moment at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday. The rain-drenched first half was meandering to its conclusion with the home side leading 2-0 after two Sunil Chhetri goals. But a moment of indiscretion from India coach Igor Stimac suddenly enlivened the proceedings.

Stimac, a vastly experienced coach and player, chose to interfere when Pakistan player Abdullah Iqbal was ready to make a throw-in. Stimac tried to pull back the ball from the player, sparking wild reactions from some visiting players as well as some coaching staff.

The referee Prajwal Chhetri and other match officials had to intervene to separate the intensely sparring individuals.


As the scuffle was brought under control referee Chhetri showed red card to Stimac, as per the football rules, for interrupting with the actions of an opposition player deliberately.

Stimac could not stand on the sideline for the rest of the match, with former India defending Mahesh Gawli doing the duty on the touchline.

A few players from India and Pakistan teams too were flashed yellow cards for intervening unnecessarily in the episode.

It may be recalled that India are facing Pakistan in a football match for the first time since September 2018 when the neighbours battled against each other in the SAFF Championship semifinals.