SL coach alleges anti-Arab racism, says SAFF didn’t treat India’s European coach this way

Newswire reports that Sri Lanka national football coach Abdullah Al Mutairi accused the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) of applying different standards to him and former India coach Igor Stimac. He made the allegations after Sri Lanka lost 4-0 to Bangladesh at the SAFF Championship on Wednesday.

Newswire says Al Mutairi alleged that he was being targeted because he is Arab. He questioned why he could face a possible six-month suspension and a $10,000 fine, while Stimac received a $500 fine for abusive language toward match officials during the 2023 SAFF Championship. Al Mutairi also referred to an incident in that tournament in which Stimac physically intervened as a Pakistani player attempted a throw-in, prompting a confrontation.

Newswire reports that Al Mutairi said SAFF’s legal department emailed him around midnight on Tuesday and gave him 10 hours to respond to disciplinary allegations. The allegations followed his remarks after Sri Lanka’s 2-2 draw with Bhutan, including criticism of refereeing decisions and calls for Video Assistant Referee technology during the group stage. He questioned why the message had been sent overnight rather than the following morning.

Newswire says Al Mutairi asked whether SAFF would impose comparable discipline on a European, American or Russian coach, and alleged that the federation had treated him unfairly when he coached Nepal in the 2021 Championship. The report does not specify what action SAFF will take next.