The Azerbaijani weightlifting team refused to participate in the European Championship in Yerevan after the incident with the burning of the flag at the opening ceremony of the tournament, Azerisport.com writes with reference to a joint statement by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan.
The statement called the incident “a clear indicator of ethnic hatred, racism, xenophobia and Azerbaijani phobia”, which “completely contradicts the noble goal and principles of sports that promote friendship between peoples and mutual understanding.” Given the “atmosphere of hatred” in Armenia, “the normal participation of Azerbaijani athletes is impossible,” Azerbaijani authorities said. In this regard, it was decided to return them to their homeland.
The incident with the flag occurred the day before during the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championships in Yerevan. During the parade of the flags of the tournament participants, a man ran onto the stage, snatched the flag from the hands of the girl who was holding it, set it on fire and carried it out of the hall.
It was later reported that designer Aram Nikolyan set fire to the flag. “My desire was solely to ensure that the flag of Azerbaijan would not fly in Yerevan, the capital of the Republic of Armenia,” he said. Nikolyan was taken to the police immediately after the incident. According to his lawyer Alexander Kochubaev, no criminal case will be initiated.
Source: Rosbalt
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