The match between Azerbaijani football club “Karabakh” and the Luxembourg “Dudelange” ended in scandal when a drone with the flag of the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh flew into the field.
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The match was interrupted for 25 minutes. During this time, fights broke out in the stadium parking lot.
In the end Qarabag won the match and social media is still in an uproar.
Responsibility for the provocation was claimed by Armenian “ultras,” a group of fanatic football hooligans.
The match between Azerbaijani football club “Karabakh” and the Luxembourg “Dudelange” ended in scandal. Photo Reuters
Azerbaijan’s football club “Karabakh” was playing the Dudelange club the evening of October 3 at the Jozi Bartel stadium in Luxembourg when a drone appeared during the first half of the match.
At that moment, the score was 2-0 in favor of “Karabakh.”
NKR is an unrecognized republic in the South Caucasus around which the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict broke out in the early 1990s.
When the drone descended toward the field, one of the defenders of “Karabakh” kicked the ball in its direction – missing.
Meanwhile, indignant Azerbaijani fans rushed to the field, leading to two arrests.
During a forced break, fights broke out in the parking lot and several cars were looted.
After about 25 minutes, the drone went on its way. It turned out that it had been launched from the roof of a high rise not far from the stadium.
The Minister of Sports of Luxembourg apologized to everyone and said that their country had nothing to do with this provocation.
Despite the disturbance, the drone had no effect on the outcome of the game: “Karabakh” defeated “Dudelange” 4 to 1.
After the incident, the Azerbaijan Football Association (AFFA) released the following comment:
“The incident casts doubt on the safety of the players, and we hope that measures will be taken to prevent this kind of action in the future. We are confident that UEFA will investigate and make a decision. We want to thank the Karabakh players for their professional behavior and control of emotions” .
AFFA also recalled that the Karabakh club is from Agdam, which is now located in the territory controlled by Armenia.
Comment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan:
“The accredited ambassador was instructed to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg and make sure that those responsible for the provocations will be found and bear the corresponding responsibility” .
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani social media erupted in anger, with some users even pointing the finger at the authorities in Luxembourg:
“Dudelange must be excluded from the European League, the country should not be allowed to attend European competitions, or something worse even – the drone could have seriously injured the players” .
On Armenian social networks, the incident did not go unnoticed.
Social network users were divided into two camps. Some considered this act a very vivid and successful way to bring attention to the issue of Karabakh. Others considered such a trick inappropriate.
Some comments from Armenian social media:
“Well done, our guys!”
“Full bacchanalia. The match is paused. And all this, sitting at the screens and from
the stands in a good mood, the Armenians watched. ”
“If they run away from the flag alone, how will they“ liberate ”Karabakh? Flags hang everywhere. ”
“As a result, most likely, the Football Federation of Armenia will be fined a tidy sum.”
“One should not be proud of the piece of fabric on which the symbol of the division and colonization of Armenia is reflected. If you wanted to release a drone with a flag, you would have taken the flag of Armenia.
PS On the same day, a young and strong guy died on the border. Our guy! ”
There are no official comments from Armenia.