 "Igor Stimac was removed as India's head coach after elimination from FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. AP")
Former Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac has taken the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to FIFA over a breach of contract and has sought compensation till June 2026 when the Croatian’s contract was due to expire. According to a report in Hindustan Times, Stimac filed the relevant documents on FIFA’s legal portal on Sunday.
Stimac, who had signed a contract extension in October 2023, was sacked as India head coach in June this year after the Blue Tigers failed to qualify for the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. He was later replaced by Manolo Marquez in July.
“It’s all in the hands of my lawyer,” Stimac was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times. “The case is very simple so I am confident about the final verdict," he added.
Davor Radic, the lawyer who is representing Stimac, clarified their stand. “Our position is very simple. My client’s contract was terminated from the position of the head coach without just cause. The compensation offered to the head coach by the national association is not acceptable and so we have approached the FIFA Football Tribunal," he told Hindustan Times while speaking from Split in Croatia.
As per FIFA, the tribunal procedures are free of cost should one of the parties involved be a coach, player, football agent, or match agent. The tribunal is the only authority to “render a decision based on the circumstances of the claim,” as per the Guide document on the official website of FIFA.
Should either party disagree with the verdict, they can appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Following the sacking of the 56-year-old, he was offered three months’ salary as compensation by the AIFF but the Croatian rejected that.
His three-month compensation clause was however removed from his contract paper in 2022 and 2023 and after his sacking, Stimac had said that he would move FIFA over non-payment of dues as per his contract.
The report adds that the AIFF will communicate its perspective of the events to FIFA. AIFF has not heard anything from FIFA or Stimac regarding the matter, said Satyanarayan Muthyalu, who was the acting secretary-general till Monday, when P Anilkumar took over.