Football
AIFF prez Chaubey denies Prabhakaran’s claims on Stimac's contract extension clause
Prabhakaran accused Chaubey of approving Stimac's contract extension without a severance clause. Chaubey, however, denied the charge.
Shaji Prabhakaran (left) and Kalyan Chaubey (right) are involved in a fresh controversy over Igor Stimac's contract extension.
Former AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran claimed Monday that the federation president Kalyan Chaubey had approved the contract extension for former national team head coach Igor Stimac, even though there was no severance clause.
Chaubey, however, called Prabhakaran's claim a "complete lie".
Writing a letter to the AIFF executive committee and member associations, Prabhakaran said, "The contract was signed only when Chaubey approved it."
This statement came just days before the AIFF’s Executive Committee scheduled for July 20. The meeting will discuss the implications of Stimac’s sacking last month.
In the letter, titled “A contract clause that Kalyan Chaubey approved first and denied later,” Prabhakaran said, “Contrary to his claims, Chaubey was updated at every step, and the contract was signed only with his approval."
"He has a habit of blaming others without taking responsibility himself. The termination clause was revised in September 2022 when the extension was granted. He has a copy of the agreement but fails to read it before making public statements," he stated further.
Chaubey, however, told the media that he was in China for the Hangzhou Asian Games when the contract was signed on October 5, 2023, and was unaware of it.
“The contract extension of Stimac was completed and signed in my absence. What Prabhakaran is saying is a complete lie. He’s writing the letter now because the AIFF executive committee is going to discuss Stimac’s sacking in the meeting," he said.
Prabhakaran was sacked as the AIFF secretary-general in November 2023 for a “breach of trust.” The Delhi High Court initially stayed his removal but later allowed the AIFF executive committee to proceed with it. The case is still pending and will be heard later this month.
In the letter, Prabhakaran wrote, “The first extension for the head coach was based on the decision of the Technical Committee and Executive Committee, and the extension contract was drafted with revised clauses.”
Stimac was removed as head coach, with his contract being terminated a year before it was to expire after the team was ousted from the World Cup Qualifiers despite an easy draw.
Stimac, who was appointed in 2019, was given an extension until 2026 by the AIFF in October last year. Since there was no severance clause in his new contract signed on October 5, 2023, the AIFF had to pay his remaining contract value, amounting to USD 718,700.
A day after he was sacked, Stimac threatened to sue the AIFF in the FIFA Tribunal if his outstanding dues (USD 360,000) were not paid within 10 days.
The AIFF said that when Stimac’s contract came up for renewal in October 2023, the core committee, chaired by vice president N A Haris, proposed a two-year contract with a monthly salary of USD 30,000 from January 2024 and instructed the legal team to finalize the contract with a termination clause favourable to AIFF.
“The contract provided for a salary raise to USD 30,000 per month from February 2024 to January 2025 and USD 40,000 per month from February 2025 to January 2026 (without Core Committee approval for the latter amount). Specific instructions to include termination clauses favorable to AIFF were not followed, but certain termination for cause clauses were retained,” the AIFF stated.
