Indian football coach paid lakhs to astrologer on selecting playing 11: Report
₹12-15 lakh for his services over a two-month period. According to a report in The Indian Express, around 100 messages were exchanged between Stimac and Sharma between May and June 2022. The Indian team had played around 4 matches during this period against the likes of Cambodia, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Jordan.
“Hi dear Bhupesh, it was a pleasure meeting you and discussing future work! I would kindly ask you to provide opinion on the following players.", the report quoted an early message by Stimac to Sharma as saying. The Indian football coach then went on to give the date, place and time of birth of four players. The report revealed an incident on 9 June 2022, two days before the Indian team was due to take on Afghanistan in an Asian Cup qualifier in Kolkata.
“Hi dear friend, you can check charts for each player from the list for 11 June. Kick off time is at 20.30." Stimac messaged the astrologer. The 'list' sent by Stimac included the names of the likely 11 for the upcoming match, while Sharma quickly replied to the message with his comments.
The remarks by the astrologer Bhupesh Sharma included: “Good"; “can do very well. Needs to avoid over confidence"; “a below average day"; “a very good day for him but might get over aggressive"; “not recommended for the day". Former AIFF general secretary Kaushal Das confirmed to The Indian Express that he introduced Stimac to Sharma in May 2022.
He said, “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.
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