WATCH: Igor Stimac Gets Red Card as India and Pakistan Players Involved in Heated Exchange During SAFF Championship Clash

India football team head coach Igor Stimac received a red card in the final minutes of the first half against Pakistan in the SAFF Championship clash at Sree Kanteerava Stadium. It was a big blow for India but the referee took the call after taking his time as Stimac was at fault for his act of indiscretion.

It was the brink of halftime when the ball went outside of the pitch and Pakistan’s defender Abdullah Iqbal attempted the throw-in but Stimac was not pleased with that and wanted the referee to check the last who had the last foot. He stopped Iqbal from taking the throw-in and knocked the ball out of his hand which started on-field altercations between the players of both sides. Pakistan manager Shahzad Anwar also expressed his anger.

Captains of both teams Sunil Chhetri and Hassan Bashir told their players to calm down. The referee decided to give a red card to Stimac and a yellow to Pakistan’s head coach.

India’s Sandesh Jhinghan and Pakistan’s Rahis Nabi also received yellow cards for their tussle on the field.

Earlier, Sunil Chhetri didn’t waste much time to get his name on the scoring sheet and netted the goal in the 10th minute to stun Pakistan early.

It was a blunder from Pakistan goalkeeper Saqif Hanif who failed to hold on to the ball and misplaced the pass, Chhetri recovered it quickly and strike the ball inside the empty net to open the scoring.

Meanwhile, six minutes later, Chhetri added another to his tally from the penalty spot as India stamped their authority over Pakistan in the first half of the much-anticipated clash with 2-0 on the board.