Igor Stimac, India’s football coach, seems to have developed a liking for the red.

Back from a one-match suspension — his petulance against Pakistan on June 22 invited a red card — Stimac, who calls himself a warrior and stuck to his guns in a tweet a day later, once again courted controversy in the last match of Group A of the SAFF Championship against Kuwait in Bangalore on Tuesday.

After needlessly receiving a yellow card in the 63rd minute, Stimac lost his cool in the 80th and referee Alomgir gave a straight red card to the Croat. India, who were leading 1-0 thanks to captain Sunil Chhetri’s goal, lost their mental make-up and Anwar Ali’s own goal in the second minute of injury time meant the hosts would finish runners-up in the group.

Stimac will be slapped with an automatic one-match ban but is in danger of a two-game suspension for “using abusive and offensive language” at officials. That means if India win the semi-final, they will be without the head coach in the final also.

“Using abusive and offensive language is a serious infringement, the matter has been forwarded to the SAFF Disciplinary and Ethics Committee for their decision. Thus the head coach Mr Igor Stimac will remain suspended until further notice,” the SAFF letter to the Indian team management said on Wednesday. The Telegraph is in possession of the letter.

“As such Mr. Igor Stimac is requested to provide a written explanation by 5pm (Indian time) on 29.06.2023 (Thursday),” the letter added.

Stimac’s second red card in as many matches has sent alarm bells in the All India Football Federation (AIFF). After the Pak match a senior official spoke to him but Tuesday’s incident proved that the 1998 World Cupper is not in a mood to listen.

“Yes, it’s something to worry about. The coach being red-carded in two matches is not something we would want to see. We need to explain that team discipline and preparation cannot be hampered when the team leader himself goes missing or does things like this,” a senior official told The Telegraph.

“A coach is expected to rein in the players but here it seems just the opposite. We have a busy schedule in the lead-up to the Asian Cup and we need Igor (Stimac) to control his emotions. Other teams could exploit this in future matches because he is being seen as someone who will react at the smallest provocation. Unfortunately, he is now the weakest link in the scheme of things,” another official added.

Former India player Shyam Thapa, who was the technical committee chairman when Stimac was appointed as national team coach in the summer of 2019, did not like what he saw over the past week.

“I think in his zeal to show his love for India, Stiamc is actually letting us down,” Thapa was candid.

Agreed former India captain Debjit Ghosh: “Aggression is good but that does not mean your team will suffer for that. We need him in the dug-out and these red cards are not good for the team.”

Mahesh Gawli, India’s assistant coach who was calling the shots against Nepal last Saturday and once again will be on the hot seat against Lebanon on July 1, defended Stimac in the post-match news conference on Tuesday.

“The refereeing was poor and the SAFF will have to think about the quality of the officials or the tournament will suffer. Our coach (Stimac) was not at fault. It’s the referee who could not control the match. Kuwait were very rough,” the former India defender said.

Gawli said even the yellow card that Stimac received in the 63rd minute was unnecessary. “Our coach was just having a conversation with the player and the referee, after talking with the line officials, showed the card. They were targeting him,” Gawli alleged.