Igor Stimac Sees Red For Stopping Pakistan Player’s Throw-In During SAFF Championship Opener | WATCH

Pakistan manager Shahzad Anwar, player R Nabi and India defender were shown yellow card because of the fight.

New Delhi: India head coach Igor Stimac was sent off just before the half-time during the high-voltage India versus Pakistan Group A encounter in the SAFF Championship 2023 opener on Thursday at Bengaluru’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

The incident happened just on the brink of the half time whistle when the ball had gone out of the field. Pakistan’s Abdullah Iqbal collected the ball and when he was about to throw in, Stimac came from behind and tried to grab the ball, which clearly was a case of obstructing the game play.

It sparked wild reactions from some visiting players as well as some coaching staff and resulted in a fight between the players and officials from both sides. The referee Prajwal Chhetri and other match officials had to intervene to separate the intensely sparring individuals.

Stimac in Action 😅 #indianfootball #SAFF2023 #SAFFChampionship #INDvsPAK #INDPAK full vedio :https://t.co/K1LFpPptfW pic.twitter.com/eV1MYgcgte

— Karthik ks (@RudraTrilochan) June 21, 2023

India defender Sandesh Jhingan and Nabi were also shown yellow cards. Stimac was given a straight red card while his counterpart Shahzad Anwar got a yellow card too. In the absence of Stimac, former India international Mahesh Gawli doing the duty on the touchline.

It may be recalled that India are facing Pakistan in a football match for the first time since September 2018 when the neighbours battled against each other in the SAFF Championship semifinals. Meanwhile, Sunil Chhetri scored a hattrick in the game and took his tally to 90 goals. Chhetri scored on 10, 16 (P) and 74 (P) minutes.