Months after being sacked as India's men's football team head coach, Igor Stimac is now set to USD 400,000 (approximately Rs 3.36 crore) from the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The two parties have reached an agreement for the same. Stimac will Rs 3.36 crore after tax as compensation for being terminated from the job.
The AIFF sacked the 57-year-old Stimac in June this year, terminating his contract exactly a year before it was to expire. The move came after the Indian team's ouster from the second round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers despite getting a relatively easy draw. The sacking was followed by a bitter war of words between Stimac and the AIFF with the Croat threatening to sue the federation if it didn't settle his dues within 10 days. However, the two parties have now reached an agreement.
"The AIFF top brass has approved payment of USD 400,000 as compensation to settle the issue with AIFF," a source privy to the development told PTI on Sunday. It is quite a hefty amount for a federation that has struggled for funds in recent times and has reduced its competitions budget this year.
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Earlier, AIFF had offered three months' salary as compensation after his sacking but Stimac refused and went to FIFA last month claiming USD 920,000 (approximately Rs 7.72 crore) as two years' salary from the country's apex football body. The former India coach had earlier rejected offers from the AIFF to settle for five and then 10 months' salary.
Stimac was appointed as the head coach in 2019. He was given an extension until 2026 by the AIFF in October last year. Stimac was given a condition that he would get an extension if the team made the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup -- a feat that has never been achieved.
(With inputs from PTI)
