It was a match of fired-up tempers on both the sides as India met Pakistan in their SAFF Championship opener at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday. While India were the dominant side right from the kick off and ended up winning the side, there was particularly a phase of play where things got heated up and players of both the Indian and the Pakistan got into a bit of a brawl with even the coaching staff getting in the middle of the scuffle.
Even though it is only human to sometimes lose control and let emotions overpower individuals, India head coach Igor Stimac, who was shown a red card, has said that he would do that again to protect his team. Notably, Stimac had been shown a red card in the dying minutes of the first half. The Blue Tigers were leading 2-0 with the help of Sunil Chhetri's brace.
However, India's Croatian manager wasn't pleased with referee Prajwal Chhetri's decision to award Pakistan the throw-in as he felt that India's right back Pritam Kotal had actually been fouled which is when he interfered in the middle of the match, objecting to Abdullah Iqbal taking a throw-in.
The referee had awarded a red card to Stimac while Shahzad Anwar, the manager of Pakistan, was issued a yellow card. However, Stimac said after the match that he does not mind doing what he did again for his side.
"Football is all about passion, especially when you defend the colours of your country. You can hate or love me for my actions yesterday, but I am a warrior and I will do it again when needed to protect our boys on the pitch against unjustified decisions," Stimac tweeted.
"You can hate or love me for my actions yesterday, but I am a warrior and I will do it again when needed to protect our boys on the pitch against unjustified decisions," he added.
After the red card, Stimac couldn't be at the touchline for the remainder of the match.