Igor Stimac on getting a red card for interrupting a Pakistan player: ‘I’ll do it again when necessary to protect our boys’

The rain-soaked first half meandered towards its conclusion with the home team leading 2-0 after two goals from Sunil Chhetri. But a moment of indiscretion from Stimac suddenly enlivened the proceedings.

Stimac, a highly experienced coach and player, chose to interfere when Pakistani player Abdullah Iqbal was ready to take a throw-in. Stimac attempted to take the ball away from the player, leading to wild reactions from some visiting players and the coaching staff.

Referee Prajwal Chhetri and other match officials had to intervene to separate the intensely fighting individuals.

When the fight was under control, referee Chhetri showed Stimac a red card, per football rules, for deliberately disrupting the actions of an opposition player.

Stimac was unable to sit out for the remainder of the match, with the former Indian defending Mahesh Gawli doing his duty on the touchline.

Some players from the Indian and Pakistani teams also received yellow cards for unnecessarily interfering in the episode.

After defeating Pakistan, India’s assistant coach Gawli said that the red card might seem a bit harsh for his senior, but the referee had to follow the rules.

“Yes, it was an offense that if you follow the rules often draws a red card. But yes, but then we felt that it might have been a bit hard on the coach,” Gawli had said during the post-match press conference.