Igor Stimac to hold press conference on Friday to 'open the cards' on his sacking

Igor Stimac, who was recently sacked as India men’s football team coach, will be hosting a press conference on Friday (21 June), the Croatian confirmed on Thursday. The 56-year-old coach was sacked controversially by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) after India were knocked out of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.

Stimac, who has also threatened to sue AIFF, took to X (formerly 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 wrote on X.

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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! 🇮🇳🇭🇷💪🏻🤝🏼

— Igor Štimac (@stimac_igor) June 20, 2024

“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!”

Stimac was removed from his post with immediate effect on Monday.

The AIFF in a press release said 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". The former Derby County and West Ham defender 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.

The former Croatia defender also threatened to sue AIFF in the FIFA Tribunal if they do not clear his dues soon.

Stimac had a contract till 2026 and was being paid approximately Rs 25 lakh per month. His contract did not have a severance clause and AIFF could be forced to pay the entirety of his remaining contract value which will amount to Rs six crore.