SAFF Championship 2023: Igor Stimac sent off once again, this time against Kuwait

The Indian head coach was sent off for the second time in the tournament.

Indian head coach Igor Stimac was sent off for the second time in the ongoing SAFF Championship following his antics at the touchline during India's stalemate against Kuwait.

The Croatian tactician was shown a direct red in the 78th minute after he was seen arguing with the referees, disagreeing over their decisions. Stimac was warned with a yellow card in the 63rd minute for the same reason.

Stimac watched the remainder of the match from the stands and was escorted by security officials following the referee's decision.

The tactician returned to the Indian dugout after serving a one-match ban, missing the Blue Tiger's 2-0 win against Nepal. The opening day fixture against Pakistan saw the 55-year-old concede a red card for interrupting a Pakistani player from taking a throw-in.

The India-Kuwait fixture had plenty of tensions as players regularly engaged in physical battles and collective feuds, more so in the second half. Three red cards were shown during the course of the game – the most in a game so far at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

Kuwait's Hamad Al Qallaf was sent off a minute before the end of regular time, along with India's Rahim Ali.

With both sides limited to 10 players, Kuwait equalized early in the injury time to shatter India's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals as the leaders of Group A.

The Kuwaiti side, invited to play in the SAFF Championship for the first time, celebrated in front of the Indian bench, further escalating tension between the two sides.

India led the match with a Sunil Chhetri goal in the dying minutes of the first half, converting Anirudh Thapa's corner to net his 92nd goal in the Indian shirt.

India will now play the topper of Group B, likely to be Lebanon, for a place in the final. Igor Stimac will miss the knock-out tie as a result of today's booking.