The top brass of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is inclined to heed the technical committee’s recommendation to sack Igor Stimac, head coach of the men’s national team, but contractual issues could make it difficult to do so, PTI has learned learned. Also given that India’s next World Cup second round qualifier is scheduled for June 6 against Kuwait in Calcutta, changing the man at the helm might not be a good idea at this point, according to AIFF sources.
“Under the circumstances, he (Stimac) is likely to be in charge of the team for the next two matches in June,” a source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
India will need to get a favorable result against Kuwait if they want to reach the third round of the World Cup qualifier for the first time.
The Blue Tigers will next face reigning Asian champions Qatar in an away match on June 11.
It is also learned that the IM Vijayan-led technical committee wondered “how Stimac can move forward (as head coach)” after the shock 1-2 defeat to a depleted Afghanistan in Guwahati on March 26.
India’s away match against the Afghans in Abha, Saudi Arabia ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
Stimac was first appointed as head coach in 2019 for a two-year term. In October 2022, his contract was extended until January 2024 (when the AFC Asian Cup was held). But in October 2023, the AIFF again extended his contract until June 2026, after India’s fine show in the first World Cup qualifying round and the SAFF Championships.
AIFF sources said the original contract contained a dismissal clause (9.1), which provides for three months’ notice. But the latest contract (signed in October 2023) does not contain this clause, and this has created problems for the AIFF in terms of sacking Stimac.
Stimac receives a salary of USD 30,000 (approximately Rs 25 lakh) per month and in the absence of the dismissal clause with three months’ notice, the AIFF can end up paying him more than USD 750,000 (approximately Rs 6,254 crore) if the federation so chooses. to fire him now.
The AIFF pays the entire salary to Stimac, but the federation gets almost half of the amount reimbursed by the Sports Authority of India.
“Although the original contract provided the AIFF with the option to terminate the contract without giving reasons with three months’ notice, the AIFF gave up this right during the contract renewal period and this was documented in the amendment letter,” read the requested legal opinion. by the AIFF.
“Any termination not in accordance with the agreement would give him the opportunity to sue for wrongful termination and compensation for all fees owed to him for the remainder of the term.” Shaji Prabhakaran was then the general secretary of the AIFF before being sacked on November 7 last year, while Nilanjan Bhattacharjee – whose services were also terminated earlier this month – was the chief legal adviser.
It is also learned that the AIFF may explore options such as whether the earlier clause 9.1 can be interpreted as part of the latest contract in case the agreement signed in October 2023 was an extension of the earlier one.
“The AIFF may check whether the last contract signed last year (with Stimac) is an extension of the previous one and in that case the previous dismissal clause may still survive (even if not expressly stated)”, the source said. .
“Or it could be that a contract without a severance clause is legally bad and (the clause) can be reinserted.”
The AIFF is also not happy with some of Stimac’s comments after the loss to Afghanistan and has constituted a five-member committee comprising Vice President NA Haris, Executive Committee members Menla Ethenpa and Anilkumar Prabhakaran, and Technical Committee members IM Vijayan and Climax Lawrence to hold talks with him and seek clarification on the issue.
“The President of the AIFF and its members have also taken note of certain comments made by Indian Head Coach Igor Stimac in the press regarding his future with the team following the completion of the Round 2 qualifiers,” the AIFF said.
Stimac had said he would quit in June if he does not take India to the third World Cup qualifying round in June.
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