Igor Stimac, the head coach of India’s national football team asked Bhupesh Sharma, an astrologer from Delhi NCR ‘to check charts for each player‘ on June 9, 2022, 48 hours before India was scheduled to play Afghanistan in a crucial Asian Cup qualifying match in Kolkata. The said astrologer was introduced to India coach by a senior All India Football Federation (AIFF) official.
The complete message as per Indian express read: ““Hi dear friend, you can check charts for each player from the list for 11 June. Kick off time is at 20.30.”
The “list” Igor Stimac was referring to contained the names of the probable starting 11 for the match, which India, who were injured and out of form, needed to win in order to keep their hopes of winning the prestigious continental championship, alive.
With his comments against each name, the astrologer replied within hours: “Good” and “can do very well.” Needs to curb his arrogance; “a day below average;” “a great day for him but he might become too aggressive”; “not recommended for the day.”
When India’s selection for the match was announced an hour before the game on June 11, two well-known players whose stars weren’t favorable, according to the astrologer, did not make the cut.
This was not a one-off discussion.
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Igor Stimac constantly in touch with astrologer
There are about 100 communications that claim to have been exchanged between Sharma and Igor Stimac, a former Croatian international, between May and June 2022. During this time, India played four games: a friendly against Jordan, three Asian Cup qualifying matches against Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong.
The communications demonstrate that Igor Stimac and Sharma spoke before each game. These texts pose ethical concerns because sharing sensitive team information with a “outsider” carries the possibility of it being exploited, and it also cast doubt on the fairness of the Indian squad’s selection process.
Kushal Das, the AIFF’s then secretary general, acknowledged introducing Stimac to Sharma in May 2022.
“We connected at a meeting. He (Sharma) had experience working for numerous telecom businesses and Bollywood celebrities. They said that player phases and astrological times could influence people’s decision-making,” according to Das, who spoke to The Indian Express.
He added: “That time, I was worried if India would qualify for the Asian Cup and so was Igor, let me be very honest. It was not a comfortable situation. For me, the most important thing was that India should qualify. So I told him (Sharma) that I will put you in touch with the coach and if he likes it, he thinks your services can be utilised, he can get back to me. Igor was very convinced and they were in Kolkata throughout.”
When questioned about Sharma’s contract, Das responded, “We paid him roughly Rs 12–15 lakh because we utilised his expert skills for two months. Given that India had already qualified for the Asian Cup, that didn’t seem like a lot.
These disclosures occur as the Indian team’s performance soars as it enters the top 100 worldwide.
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