“…And look, my son, wherever you are,

wherever you go under this moon

Even if you put your mother out of your mind,

Don’t forget your mother tongue.”

According to Silva Kaputikyan, Yerevan “Urartu” football clubn: react to the statutory amendments of the Football Federation of Armenia. Perhaps it is difficult to find a more accurate wording for the decision that resulted Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) president and executive committee member candidates will no longer be required to know Armenian and to have lived permanently in Armenia for the past year.

The changes adopted at the extraordinary meeting of the FFA held on November 4 have raised new questions regarding the management of Armenian football, the upcoming elections and the real motives behind the decisions. The decision adopted by 29 votes, 2 against and 1 abstention, which is presented as a step to expand the range of possible candidates, was perceived by a number of clubs and fans as an attempt to change conditions for a specific person before the elections.

The problem is not that a specialist living abroad or with international experience should not have the opportunity to participate in the administration of Armenian football. The question is why՞The requirement to master the state language of one’s own country is eliminated for a person aspiring to the position of head of the national federation. And what’s more, why is such a decision made just weeks before the upcoming elections of the FFA president?

 “Urartun” with the lines of Kaputikyan

One of the two clubs that voted against the changes, “Urartun”, started its official statement with the lines of Silva Kaputikyan’s poem “Your Mother Language Don’t Forget”. The club believes that the abolition of the requirement to know Armenian contradicts the interests of Armenian football.

“The requirement to live in Armenia before the nomination gave at least a minimum guarantee that the candidate is familiar with the realities of Armenian football and the problems that the clubs face every day. And the knowledge of Armenian gives an opportunity to work with the entire document circulation of the organization, which is conducted in the state language.” said in the club’s statement.

“Urartu” also emphasized that any changes to the FFA charter must comply with the legislation of Armenia, and the criteria for selecting the leadership of the federation must reflect responsibility before the football community of the country.

The club announced that its further steps will be aimed at ensuring the transparency of the election process.

“Ararat-Armenia”․ Who are they changing the rules for?

“Ararat-Armenia” also made a more extensive and harsh statement against the changes. The club first clarified that although it was among the clubs that joined the initiative to convene an extraordinary meeting, this does not mean that it was the initiator of the statutory changes or their supporter.

 “Clubs, simply by signing the document, they expressed their desire to participate in the extraordinary meeting, during which the proposed changes should be presented and discussed.” the club noted.

According to “Ararat-Armenia”, the elimination of the requirement to live in Armenia during the last one year can be discussed, because specialists working abroad may also have a desire to be involved in the management of Armenian football. However, removing the requirement to know Armenian is a completely different matter.

“Excluding the requirement to master the Armenian language is highly critical, if not to say, it is a shameful proposal.” stated in the statement.

The club also drew attention to a controversy. The FFA charter continues to require citizenship of the Republic of Armenia from the candidate, while it is proposed to eliminate the condition of knowledge of Armenian. “Ararat-Armenia” reminds that the RA “Citizenship” Law also assumes knowledge of Armenian.

But the main question of the club is broader․ why right now and for whom are these changes being made?

 “The answer is simple․ Before the upcoming elections of the FFA president, an attempt is being made to amend the charter, adapting it for a specific candidate, a specific person.” said in the statement.

“Ararat-Armenia” also questioned the necessity of changing the calculation of terms of office, raising the question of which member of the FFA Executive Committee in particular is in the interests of the new regulation.

Dennis Djorkaeff’s name at the center of discussions

In the context of the constitutional changes, the name of Denis Dzhorkaef is circulating in the Armenian media. The brother of the former football player of the French national team, the world and European champion, Yuri Djorkaef, was previously the adviser on international affairs to the president of the FFA, and he is also the honorary consul of Armenia in France.

According to information published in the media, Dzhorkaef does not speak Armenian and does not live in Armenia permanently. Therefore՝ under the conditions of the previous regulations, those circumstances could prevent him from running for the post of FFA president.

With the new regulation, in fact, those two restrictions no longer exist. This is the reason why the changes are connected with the possible candidacy of Djorkaef.

Nevertheless, there is no official announcement about his participation in the FFA presidential elections. It is also not confirmed that the only or main purpose of the statutory changes is to pave the way for his candidacy. However, the time overlap and the nature of the changes have become a sufficient basis for this issue to appear in the center of public discussion.

Information was also circulated earlier in the press that Djorkaef’s candidacy may have international support, including from FIFA. However, this information is not officially confirmed either.

29 voting members under fire

Sports commentator Arman Abelyan also reacted harshly to the results of the FFA extraordinary meeting.

“The 29 members of the Federation who voted in favor of the statutory changes are a disgrace to each other,” he wrote.

According to Abelyan, it is not important who among the members had hidden goals, who was forced to vote or who was guided by their own interests. The result does not change.

“Football was once again subordinated to narrow personal interests,” the commentator noted.

According to his assessment, after these developments, Armenian football can continue to have a federation governed by the same logic, maybe with different faces, but with the same problems. Abelyan also drew attention to the upcoming presidential elections, stressing that their results are yet to be seen.

And who will answer to Armenian football?

FFA President Armen Melikbekyan stated that the request to convene an extraordinary meeting was submitted with the signatures of 29 members of the federation, and the initiative was not given to the leadership of the federation. According to him, the right to propose statutory changes belongs to FFA members.

However, even if the process formally complies with the established procedure, it still does not answer the most important question: are the decisions made in the long-term interests of Armenian football?

It is also noteworthy that the calculation of terms of office was revised with the package of amendments. From now on, tenure of less than two years will not be considered a full term, and in case of tenure of two years or more, it will be counted as one term. This may also have an impact on the upcoming elections and term limits in the leadership positions of the federation.

The elections of the FFA president and members of the Executive Committee are scheduled for the second half of December. Until then, the Armenian football community still needs to understand who will be nominated, what programs the candidates will present and whether the electoral process will be able to provide real competition.

Today, Armenian football does not need regular statutory changes with conditions adapted for possible candidates, but trust, transparency and responsible management.

 And if knowledge of the language of one’s own country is no longer mandatory to be nominated for the leadership position of the national federation, then at least there should be a clear answer to another question: how is that person going to represent, understand and take responsibility in front of the Armenian football community?

 The lines “Don’t forget your mother tongue” are not just a literary quote in this case. They have become the symbol of the discussion about the management of Armenian football. And the December elections will show how ready the football family is to protect its interests.

Interesting observation as well. Almost nothing is known about Denis Djorkaeff’s activities, biography, other than being the brother of Yuri Djorkaeff or his agent, including in French open sources. His name started circulating in Armenia after the 2018 color revolution. First, Yuri Dzhorkaef actively visits Armenia, meets with Nikol Pashinyan, then his brother.

The changes and advancements in the biography and career of Denis Dzorkaef began after Nikol Pashinyan came to power, after establishing close relations with the Communist Party circles.

2018 July – Pashinyan receives Yuri Dzhorkaef. The meeting discussed the development of football in Armenia and the possible support of the Djorkaef family.

2020 July – Denis Dzorkaef is appointed as an adviser on international issues to the president of FFA, Armen Melikbekyan. At the same time, Hakob Simidyan was appointed as the adviser to the president on relations with the government.

2020 December – Pashinyan accepts the two brothers. Denis is already presented as an adviser to the president of the FFA and a deputy mayor of the city of Desin-Sharpieux. Chief Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan also participates in the meeting.

2021 November – Denis Djorkaeff is appointed the honorary consul of Armenia in France.

Moreover, after the color revolution of 2018, on July 9, during the meeting with Pashinyan, Yuri Dzhorkaef said, according to the official report, that he had already been to Armenia several times, including as part of the delegations of French presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.. “And it is very important for me, because everyone knows that my blood is Armenian. What you did recently was wonderful, indescribable, you inspired many Armenians, you changed the face of the state, brought hope, something that did not exist before. And this is something radically different, because there is an opportunity to do something in the right way, that’s why I want to ask you how I can be useful for the country. I also want to make my move. My foundation is ready to start new projects in Armenia.” Yuri Djorkaef said, adding that he also works with UNICEF and is ready to be useful to Armenia in that regard.

Nikol Pashinyan thanked the Armenian football player for his response to the Velvet Revolution and welcomed his initiatives. The Prime Minister expressed his belief that Yuri Djorkaef will give great energy to the development of Armenian football with his plans.

 What is known about the biography of Denis Djorkaeff?

– He was born in 1965, in the town of Dessins-Sharpieux, near Lyon, France.

– He has Armenian origin on his mother’s side. His ancestors are emigrants who survived the Armenian Genocide.

– Lives in Dessin-Charpiot.

– He was the agent of his brother, Yuri Dzhorkaef.

– Engaged in the representation and management of his brother’s football activities.

– Since 2020, he has been an adviser on international issues to the president of the Football Federation of Armenia, Armen Melikbekyan.

– In 2021, he became the deputy mayor of the city of Dessin-Sharpieu, in charge of culture and cooperation between cities.

– In November 2021, he was appointed the honorary consul of Armenia in Nantes.

– Cooperated with the Armenian company FeedConstruct as an ambassador. FeedConstruct is a sports data and sports betting technology services company. It is not just a sports broadcasting company. one of the most important directions of his business is the international betting market. According to the data announced by the company, it has more than 300 partners, including sports federations, leagues and betting operators. It also cooperates with more than 60 sports federations and leagues. Սա հետաքրքիր հանգամանք է, քանի որ ընկերությունը, որի դեսպան էր նշանակվել Դենիս Ջորկաեֆը, գործում է ոչ միայն սպորտի, այլև բուքմեյքերական և խաղադրույքների միջազգային շուկայի հետ անմիջականորեն կապված բիզնեսում։

There is no reliable information about his higher education, university or profession, professional qualifications in football management, holding managerial positions in football clubs. In other words, his complete CV with education, chronology of work experience and professional qualifications are not available in publicly available materials. In the French press, he was also presented as an agent of former professional footballers, his brother, Yuri Djorkaef, a person related to his activities, but the information about his brother’s agent has not yet been confirmed by an independent source. Artificial intelligence also found no supporting data. “At the moment, it is not fully documented where he worked from 1983 to 2015, what business he was engaged in and what positions he held,” ChatGPT answered our question.

 SIRARPI AGHABABYAN

—