New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Monday accused ousted coach Igor Stimac of making attempts to show the country's football fraternity in a bad light in international conferences, saying excuses and failures became emblematic of his tumultuous five-year tenure. In a strong rebuttal to the series of allegations made against the AIFF by the former men's team head coach, the federation said it left no stone unturned in its effort to provide Stimac with everything he had asked for to lift the team's performance. In a long statement, the AIFF said Stimac's sole intention of calling the press conference, four days after his sacking, was to malign the federation.
"This conduct (by Stimac) has only reinforced the AIFF's belief that the right decision was made, with just cause, to terminate his contract and move forward in the interests of Indian football," the AIFF said in the statement. Launching a stinging attack on AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, Stimac had said 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. The AIFF rejected Stimac's claims.
“Mr. Stimac was given full autonomy to function, including selections of venues, support staff, choice of travel days as per his communication with the team manager. “His specific requests, especially for various support staff of his choice, were always supported by the AIFF in the interests of the national team.
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