Kuwait held India to a 1-1 draw with a late equaliser in their final group game of the SAFF Championship 2023 on Tuesday at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. While both sides had already secured their spots in the knockout stages, things flared up between the two teams.
The final 10 minutes of the match saw tempers flare on both sides. Igor Stimac was shown yet another red card for arguing with the match officials and then Rahim Ali and Kuwait's Hamad Al-Qallaf were given the marching orders for an on-field scuffle.
Igor Stimac sitting with the fans after being sent off for the second time in #SAFFChampionship2023 #INDKUW pic.twitter.com/jOBfNYePFo
— Aneesh Dey (@DeyAneesh) June 27, 2023
Why was Igor Stimac shown the red card in India vs Kuwait?
Stimac was visibly unhappy with the manner in which the referee was supervising the game. Throughout the match, the Croat was seen protesting his decisions, which eventually saw him getting a yellow card caution from the matchday official around the one-hour mark.
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However, this did not stop India's coach from verbally barraging the officials. It eventually led to him being sent to the stands in the 81st minute of the game.
This was Stimac’s second red card of the tournament. The Indian coach was earlier send off during India’s tournament opener against Pakistan, when he flicked off the ball from a Pakistan player’s hands. He will now miss out on their semi-final game.
Assistant coach Mahesh Gawli defended Igor Stimac, claiming that the yellow cards shown to him were unjustified. He also alleged that the Kuwait players verbally abused Stimac, but the referee failed to take appropriate action. Gawli called for a change in the standard of refereeing.
"Very very bad refereeing, if we continue with such referees in SAFF Cup the standard will drop," said Gawli.