The sooner Kalyan Chaubey leaves, the better it is for Indian football: Igor Stimac

New Delhi: Ousted India football coach Igor Stimac on Friday launched a stinging attack on AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, saying the sooner he leaves the post, the better it would be for the future of football in the country where the globally-loved sport is not growing at all.

Stimac was on Monday sacked as head coach following the team’s failure to reach the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. A day later, the Croat threatened to file a lawsuit against the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in the FIFA Tribunal if his outstanding dues were not cleared in 10 days.

During a lengthy online press conference on Friday, Stimac said Indian football is “imprisoned” and blamed Chaubey for most of the problems besetting the game. He also said that he was “fed up of the lies and unfulfilled promises” during his tenure.

“The sooner Kalyan Chaubey leaves AIFF, the better it is for Indian football,” Stimac said. “Kalyan only cares about being popular - recent media meets shows that. You say he is a politician, no one knows him even in Kolkata. We need someone strong, influential and with backing to lead Indian football. “Kalyan’s priority is to increase clicks on social media and get photographed with famous players instead of thinking about the wellbeing of Indian football.”