Igor Stimac accuses AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey of wrecking Asian Games squad

Former India football head coach Igor Stimac has accused All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey of dismantling the squad for the Hangzhou Asian Games. In an exclusive interview with Sports Now, Stimac said Chaubey overruled his list of young players and replaced them with seniors, which disrupted team preparation and cooperation with the Indian Super League.

Stimac said he had submitted a squad of only under-23 players to avoid clashing with the ISL season, and had an agreement with the league's organisers. He claimed Chaubey changed the list, leading to the eventual inclusion of Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan. India lost 1-5 to China in their opening match, beat Bangladesh 1-0, drew 1-1 with Myanmar, and were eliminated by Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the Round of 16.

Stimac also alleged that the fallout with Chaubey hurt India's FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, with promises not kept and clubs reluctant to release players. He said Chaubey cared more about a photo with Arsene Wenger than the national team. The AIFF has not yet responded to the allegations.