Fifa players

AIFF Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran: As the cry for the removal of Igor Stimac as the Indian men’s team’s head coach gets louder, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is believed to be in a dilemma over deciding the fate of the Croatian World Cupper coach.

Stimac is under fire after a string of poor performances in the Asian Games and the AFC Asian Cup, followed by the goalless draw against 158th-ranked Afghanistan in Round 2 of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers at Abha, Saudi Arabia, and the 1-2 drubbing in Guwahati in the return leg on March 26.

According to sources in the AIFF, its current contract with Stimac, which was signed on October 5, 2023 and runs till January 2026, is so tilted in favour of the coach that it would be difficult for the Federation to part ways with him without coughing out a huge amount of money.