Feb 2 (Reuters) – Indian Super League (ISL) side Odisha have sacked head coach Stuart Baxter for making “unacceptable” comments referencing rape in a post-match interview.

Baxter, who was previously South Africa’s head coach, said after his team’s 1-0 defeat by Jamshedpur on Monday that one of his players “would have to rape someone or get raped himself if he was going to get a penalty.”

Odisha issued an apology on Monday, saying they were “appalled at the comments”, which were “completely unacceptable whatever the context.”

The club announced that the 67-year-old Englishman had been sacked on Tuesday.

“The interim coach for the remainder of the season will be announced soon,” Odisha said on Twitter https://twitter.com/OdishaFC/status/1356505984693374980.

Baxter took the reins at Odisha in June, signing a two-year contract. The club are currently bottom of the 11-team ISL, with one win, eight defeats and five draws so far. (Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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