BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 14
Trend:
The scandal that broke out a few days ago in connection with the fact that 'Match TV' commentator Nobel Arustamyan was not accredited for the UEFA EURO 2020, some matches of which are taking place in Azerbaijan, was predictably politicized, Trend reports referring to an article published in Russia’s Independent Newspaper.
"Armenian and some Russian observers tried to present the situation as evidence of the anti-Armenian sentiment in Baku,” the newspaper wrote. “However, in reality, the motivation for the refusal was related to the observance of the UEFA regulations and the Azerbaijani legislation, which imposes certain restrictions on those who, without appropriate authorization, visited the occupied districts of Azerbaijan."
“Not only Armenian, but also Russian observers immediately focused on this topic,” the article said.
"It is impossible not to notice that the commentators, who focused on the "national" background of the case, accidentally or deliberately overlooked that the big list of people who were not accredited by the Azerbaijani side contains the names of those who are not Armenian by origin," said the article.
EURO 2020 is being held from June 11 to July 11 in 11 European cities. Four Group A games will are being held in Baku.
A match between Switzerland and Wales was held in Baku on June 12 at the Baku Olympic Stadium. Turkey and Wales will take to the green turf on June 16, and Turkey and Switzerland will play on June 20. In addition, one 1/4 final game will take place in Baku on July 3.
The European Football Championship was supposed to be held last year but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.