BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 17. The World Boxing Committee named after Heydar Aliyev in Germany and the Diaspora Boxing League have strongly condemned the burning of the Azerbaijani flag at the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan and urged to impose sanctions against Armenia, the Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with Diaspora told Trend.
In the statement addressed to international organizations on behalf of the Committee and the League, this incident was regarded as another act of ethnic hatred in Armenia towards Azerbaijan, which occurred only a day after the torture of an Azerbaijani soldier.
It was noted that an unacceptable act against the Azerbaijani flag was demonstrated at prestigious competitions attended by the Prime Minister of Armenia, and this atmosphere of hatred made it impossible for Azerbaijani athletes to participate in competitions from the point of view of security.
Azerbaijanis urged the European Weightlifting Federation to impose sanctions against Armenia, and other relevant institutions to give a legal assessment of both incidents. In addition, they also called on the international sports community to raise their voice of protest and strongly condemn the act of aggression at the opening of the tournament in Yerevan.
Meanwhile, on April 14, 2023, at the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan, the flag of Azerbaijan was defiantly burned by an officially accredited person.
After this incident, the decision to return Azerbaijani athletes from Yerevan was made.
