Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

President Ilham Aliyev has said that the day will come when Qarabag football club will play home games in Azerbaijan’s Aghdam.

He made the remarks on December 13 while receiving members of Qarabag FC which reached the playoffs of the UEFA Conference League.

“I am sure that one day we will build Aghdam..., so that Aghdam will be an example to the whole world, and you will play your home games in Aghdam, at the Imarat Stadium, where you will win bright victories and make our people happy,” he said.

Speaking about the scale of destruction in Aghdam, the president stressed that European organizations have not said a word about this catastrophe, although more than a year has passed since the end of the war.

Aliyev emphasized that a year after the end of the war, “we have lost about 200 people, or they have become disabled”.

“But has a European organization condemned Armenia for this tragedy? No! Has a European organization condemned Armenia for ethnic cleansing and the Khojaly genocide during the occupation? No! This is the truth, this is the reality, and, of course, we must take this reality into account, but we must never come to terms with it. Just as we did not come to terms with the occupation, we did not come to terms with this injustice,” he said.

He noted that reaching the playoffs of the UEFA Conference League is a great achievement. The president underlined that the club could have played directly in the quarterfinals, but the injustice of the referee did not allow that to happen. He noted that it is not the first time Qarabag FC faces such explicit injustice in the European competitions.

Aliyev expressed the hope that UEFA will take tangible steps to eliminate this problem. He underlined that football and sports must be separated from politics.

The president noted that there have been many attempts to politicize sports, to use it as a political tool, to transfer sports achievements onto a political plane.

“I have been President of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan for 24 years. Over the years, I have repeatedly faced injustice in international competitions and the Olympic Games. The recent Olympics are no exception. Of course, we must not remain silent,” he said.

Touching upon the football club’s victory, the president underlined that this once again shows that Qarabag FC is the flagship team of Azerbaijani football. He underlined that this is not the first time that Qarabag has achieved great success in international competitions. The team deservedly represents the people and country in the international arena.

“Of course, it is no secret that the name of the Qarabag football club puts additional responsibility on you. You glorified the name of Karabakh both during the occupation and after the historic Victory in the second Karabakh war. And you promote this name throughout the European football space,” he said.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz