Azerbaijan withdraws its professional athletes from the European Weightlifting Championships after the Azeri flag was burned throughout the opening event.
Azerbaijan states it has actually withdrawn its professional athletes from the European Weightlifting Championships hosted in the capital of competing Armenia after a flag-burning occurrence throughout the opening event.
Azerbaijan stated it had actually ended up being difficult for its professional athletes to participate in the champions and they had actually currently left Armenia to take a trip house through Georgia.
Video of the occurrence on Saturday revealed a male nabbing the flag and setting it alight, triggering an upset joint declaration by Azerbaijan’s youth and sports ministry and its National Olympic Committee.
They condemned it as a “barbaric act” and as proof of ethnic hatred and bigotry, stating Armenia was unsuited to guarantee the security of professional athletes and host global sporting occasions.
“In conditions when such an environment of hatred dominates in Armenia, security is not guaranteed, the regular involvement of Azerbaijani professional athletes in competitors is difficult due to the mental pressure,” the declaration stated.
“Politicising sport is definitely inappropriate,” it included, advising the European Weightlifting Federation to enforce sanctions on Armenia.
Following the flag burning event in #Yerevan, the #Azerbaijani weight-lifting group chose to withdraw from the European Weightlifting Championships in #Armenia.
The group had actually currently reserved tickets for a flight from Yerevan to Antalya and after that to #Baku at 2:55 am. … pic.twitter.com/QqgxoqF8Pv
— The Azeri Times (@AzeriTimes) April 15, 2023
Armenia declined that criticism, stating the occurrence had actually been fixed rapidly and with no threat to rivals at the champions.
“The event that took place throughout the opening event, which was dealt with really rapidly, has absolutely nothing to do with warranties of security of the professional athletes,” it stated.
Russia’s RIA Novosti news firm stated Armenian authorities briefly apprehended the guy accountable and estimated his attorneys as stating he was launched without charge.
The 2 nations have actually had hostile relations considering that the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, of which they were both part.
Because that time, they have actually battled 2 significant wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountain enclave that is globally identified as part of Azerbaijan however is occupied primarily by ethnic Armenians. 7 soldiers were eliminated in combating within the previous week.
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Al Jazeera and news companies