Author: George Mamian

Aysor, Armenia

June 1 2022

May 4 2022

Republic of Ireland’s Nations League misery continued as Eduard Spertsyan blasted Armenia to victory in Yerevan.

The midfielder hammered a long-range 75th-minute effort past keeper Caoimhin Kelleher, making his competitive debut for Ireland, to hand the League B newcomers victory and revenge for their controversial Euro 2012 qualifier defeat in Dublin.

Stephen Kenny’s men, who have now not won in 11 attempts since the competition was introduced, could have few complaints on a night when their eight-game unbeaten run came to a disappointing end at a sweltering Republican Stadium.

Ireland enjoyed the upper hand for long periods, but failed to convert dominance into chances.

Callum Robinson had a mishit first-half shot cleared off the line and Chiedozie Ogbene headed over when he might have done better, but they wilted after the break and were caught by a sucker punch, albeit one delivered with aplomb.

With skipper Seamus Coleman and Enda Stevens operating as wing-backs, Ireland went straight on to the offensive in an effort to seize the initiative, but it was Kelleher, playing in place of the injured Gavin Bazunu, who was called upon to keep out Tigran Barseghyan’s skidding sixth-minute effort after Nathan Collins had surrendered the ball.

Shane Duffy had to block Spertsyan’s shot at full stretch seconds later and the defender picked up a ninth-minute booking for an untidy challenge on Barseghyan.

Ireland threatened for the first time when Josh Cullen fed Ogbene and he slid the ball into Callum Robinson’s path, but the striker could only ripple the side-netting with his attempt.

Neither side was able to exert any measure of control in an error-strewn passage of play and Robinson might have done better when he scuffed Ogbene’s 16th-minute cross towards goal, where Hovhannes Hambardzumyan cleared off the line.

Duffy headed over from Cullen’s corner with the visitors having regained their composure, but clear-cut openings proved few and far between.

Armenia keeper David Yurchenko caused panic in his own penalty area with a less than effective punch as he attempted to deal with Troy Parrott’s driven cross and Spertsyan survived penalty appeals for handball as Coleman recycled.

Ogbene dragged a 38th-minute shot past the far post after Robinson had collected Hendrick’s fine pass and squared before Parrott curled wide from distance four minutes before the break with Ireland pressing.

However, Ogbene passed up perhaps the best chance of the half in stoppage time when he was left unmarked from Cullen’s free-kick, but powered his header inches over.

The home side served warning of the threat they posed on the break within five minutes of the restart when Barseghyan played Hambardzumyan into space down the right and then collected his return pass before stepping neatly inside Parrott to curl a superb shot into the top corner.

However, the celebrations at the Republican Stadium died almost as soon as they had begun as an offside flag spared Kenny’s side and Barseghyan could not find the same accuracy with a similar effort from greater range six minutes later.

Duffy headed a 62nd-minute Cullen corner straight at Yurchenko and put another attempt wide from Stevens’ cross seconds later as the visitors responded.

Hendrick curled a 69th-minute shot into Yurchenko’s midriff, but it was Armenia who took the lead with 15 minutes left on the clock when Spertsyan was allowed to close in on goal before unleashing a 25-yard strike which beat Kelleher’s despairing dive and went in off the upright.

John Egan thumped a later header wide as the Republic sought salvation but Armenia, who lost 9-0 in Norway last time out, held firm to take the points.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/republic-ireland-lose-nations-league-150841392.html 

‘Football taught us a big lesson. It can be a cruel game’ – Ogbene reflects on defeat in Armenia – Independent.ie

https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/football-taught-us-a-big-lesson-it-can-be-a-cruel-game-ogbene-reflects-on-defeat-in-armenia-41720314.html

Ireland were beaten 1-0 by Armenia today | The Irish Post

https://www.irishpost.com/sport/ireland-were-beaten-1-0-by-armenia-today-235213

Armenia stun Ireland as Kenny’s men crash in Nations league – Sporting Life

https://sportinglife.ng/armenia-stun-ireland-as-kennys-men-crash-in-nations-league/

Republic of Ireland rocked by Armenia to extend Nations League drought | Nations League | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/04/republic-of-ireland-rocked-by-armenia-to-extend-nations-league-drought

Armenia 1-0 Republic of Ireland: ‘Football taught us a big lesson,’ says Chiedozie Ogbene after shock defeat – BBC Sport

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/61689920

Richard Dunne’s cutting verdict on Ireland’s defeat in Armenia – SundayWorld.com

https://www.sundayworld.com/sport/soccer/richard-dunnes-cutting-verdict-on-ireland-after-horrible-defeat-in-armenia-41720374.html

Richard Dunne issues damning Ireland assessment after Armenia loss – Pundit Arena

https://punditarena.com/football/andrew-dempsey/richard-dunne-ireland-v-armenia/

Stephen Kenny: “We only have ourselves to blame” for Armenia defeat – Irish Mirror Online

https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/stephen-kenny-we-only-ourselves-27147812

Stephen Kenny: Ireland did not deserve to lose to Armenia – The Irish Times

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/2022/06/04/stephen-kenny-ireland-did-not-deserve-to-lose-to-armenia/

‘One of Armenia’s greatest victories’ – Republic Of Ireland suffer horrific defeat as woeful Nations League run continues for Stephen Kenny’s side (talksport.com)

https://talksport.com/football/1123522/republic-of-ireland-armenia-nations-league/

Richard Dunne criticises Ireland performance in defeat to Armenia | SportsJOE.ie

https://www.sportsjoe.ie/football/richard-dunne-ireland-armenia-263140

Armenia Ireland Nations League Soccer | AP Sports | The Daily News (galvnews.com)

https://www.galvnews.com/ap/sports/image_c0050760-abb1-5112-8bc3-129007bab10b.html

ARMENIA 1-0 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND | Vinny Perth – post-match reaction | Nations League | OTB Sports

https://www.otbsports.com/podcasts/otb-football/armenia-1-0-republic-of-ireland-vinny-perth-post-match-reaction-nations-league

Highlights and goal: Armenia 1-0 Ireland in UEFA Nations League 2022-23 | 06/04/2022 – VAVEL USA

https://www.vavel.com/en-us/soccer/2022/06/04/1113559-armenia-vs-ireland-live-stream-score-updates-and-how-to-watch-uefa-nations-league-match.html

Agony in Armenia as  Republic of Ireland shocked by minnows (irishexaminer.com)

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-40888538.html

Republic of Ireland lose Nations League opener in Armenia (aol.co.uk)

https://www.aol.co.uk/sport/republic-ireland-lose-nations-league-150841306.html 

Ireland shocked in Armenia as Spertsyan hits winner (rte.ie)

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2022/0604/1303042-ireland-shocked-in-armenia-as-spertsyan-hits-winner/

Player ratings as Ireland lose 1-0 to Armenia in Yerevan – Irish Mirror Online

https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/player-ratings-ireland-lose-1-27146926

Stephen Kenny’s big mistake in shocking loss to Armenia – Pundit Arena

https://punditarena.com/football/rudi-kinsella/ireland-armenia-coleman-kenny/

Grim evening in the Caucasus as Armenia continue Ireland’s Nations League drought – The Irish Times

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/2022/06/04/grim-evening-in-the-caucasus-as-armenia-continue-irelands-nations-league-drought/

RTE, Ireland

The Spaniard was declared winner by technical knockout in the first round.

But Chaloyan was on his feet and appeared to be fit to continue fighting when the referee stopped the bout after giving him two standing eight-counts.

Chaloyan’s corner was visibly angry over the decision and his coach threw a water bottle at the referee, armenpress.am reports.

Fans began throwing water bottles into the ring as well, hitting the Team Armenia head coach Karen Aghamalyan.

In the meantime Team Armenia has already disputed the referee’s decision.

But home fans had cause for celebrations at this European Boxing Confederation (EUBC) event as four Armenian boxers guaranteed themselves a medal of some colour by winning their quarter-finals today.

Heavyweight Narek Manasyan progressed via a 5-0 verdict over Vahan Nanidsanyan of Greece in his under-92kg bout.

Also through to the last four are featherweight Arthur Bazeyan in the under-57kg category, cruiserweight Rafael Hovhannisyan and the strongest prospect of all the home boxers, light-welterweight Hovhannes Bachkov in the under-63.5kg class, who is seeking a third European title and has already set up a professional career.

Semi-finals will take place at the championships on Sunday (May 29) after tomorrow’s rest day, with finals scheduled for Monday (May 30).

Meanwhile eight British boxers have guaranteed themselves medals by reaching the last four in their respective weight categories.

England’s Kiaran MacDonald, Harris Akbar, Lewis Richardson, Lewis Williams and Delicious Orie, Wales’ Ioan and Garan Croft and Scotland’s Sam Hickey all progressed, although Scotland’s Reese Lynch suffered a unanimous points defeat against France’s Lounes Hamraoui.

MacDonald got the day off to a solid start when he earned a 4-1 decision over Ireland’s Sean Mari.

He will now seek a place in the flyweight final when he takes on Italy’s number two seed, Federico Emilio Serra, on May 29.

Sam Hickey earned Scotland’s first senior European medal for 16 years when he beat Serbia’s Almir Memic via split decision.

The middleweight put together a huge final round to guarantee his place on the podium.

“I’m buzzing, but that was tough,” Hickey told GB Boxing.

“I’ve been against two tough opponents so far who both want to come at me, and I had to have a good last round again, so I need to get rid of these slow starts and make sure I get to it right away.

“You can’t expect to get it all your own way at these Championships, you have to dig deep.

“That’s my fourth European medal from youth, under-22s and now senior so I’m really happy with that.”

He was swiftly followed into the ring by Richardson, who secured his first senior European medal through a unanimous verdict over Germany’s Kevin Schumann.

The two British middleweights and GB Boxing teammates, Hickey and Richardson, will now face each other in the semi-finals when action resumes on May 29.

Concluding the afternoon session was super-heavyweight Delicious Orie.

Facing him was Turkey’s Berat Acar but he was no match for Orie who dominated all three rounds on his way to a unanimous victory.

Orie will next box Nelvie Raman Hess Tiafack, with the winner contesting the final on May 30.

“I’ve got myself a European medal – that’s the dream,” Orie said.

“We keep pushing now and this was just the first step.

“We’re going to change the colour of it to silver on Sunday and then to gold on Monday.”

Today’s evening session saw Ioan Croft become the first Welsh member of the team to secure a medal with a 3-2 verdict over Deniel Crotter of Germany.

He will now face Lasha Guruli of Georgia in his semi-final bout.

Light-middleweight Harris Akbar then eased past Italy’s Salvatore Cavallero via unanimous decision in his quarter-final bout.

The Bradford boxer will once again face Ukraine’s Yurii Zakharieiev, whom he boxed in last year’s World Championships.

Garan Croft joined his brother in the semis via a 3-2 decision over Necat Ekinci of Turkey.

Williams then ensured Britain’s boxers will leave Yerevan with eight medals following his 4-0 win over Serbia’s Sadam Magomedov, which has set up a meeting with Georgia’s Giorgi Tchigladze.

ARAB NEWS

May 22 2022

Several important developments have taken place recently in Azerbaijan-Armenia relations.
The first was a meeting on Dec. 14 of last year between President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, facilitated by European Council President Charles Michel. This was the very first meeting in three decades between Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders without Russia’s presence.
The second was a meeting on April 6 in Brussels, again facilitated by Charles Michel, who characterized the encounter as the true beginning of the “negotiations process” between the two countries.
The third was a landmark speech that Pashinyan delivered on April 13 in the Armenian parliament, in which he said: “Today, the international community clearly tells us that to be the only country in the world that on a bilateral level does not recognize the territorial integrity of an ally of Turkey, Azerbaijan, is a great danger not only for Artsakh (the name Armenians use for Karabakh) but also for Armenia. Today, the international community again tells us to lower the bar a bit regarding the question of the status of Artsakh and you will ensure a great international consolidation around Armenia and Artsakh. Otherwise, the international community says, do not rely on us, not because we do not want to help you, but because we cannot help you.”
He also pointed out that the Karabakh question was not, in his opinion, a territorial one but rather one that concerned the rights and freedoms of Armenians living there.
For decades, Armenia has considered this issue as a question of territory. Pashinyan became the first Armenian political leader to make this distinction. In fact, as the Soviet Union dissolved, Armenia committed itself to the preservation of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and the Soviet-era borders. The question of territory had thus already been solved in 1991.
Only a political leader who won a strong electoral mandate could take such a bold step. As expected, Pashinyan’s statement caused a storm both in parliament and on the streets. The opposition faction in parliament boycotted the parliamentary sittings for one week. These are understandable reactions in a highly politicized atmosphere. The boycott will have a limited effect on the unfolding of events because the international agreements are on Azerbaijan’s side.
A threshold has now been crossed with Pashinyan’s parliamentary address. More reactions may be expected, but everything is unfolding as it would in a pluralistic society.

A bumpy road lies ahead for both countries. Because of deep-rooted mutual negative perceptions, fanatics in both countries will raise objections to the process.

Yasar Yakis

One of the merits of Pashinyan’s approach is that it made him the first political leader to address the heart of the Karabakh problem. No other leader so far had been able to make a distinction between the rights and freedoms of Karabakh Armenians and the international obligations that Armenia had assumed in becoming an independent country.
Russia’s temporary absence in the bilateral Azerbaijan-Armenia meeting does not of course mean that it will be sidelined indefinitely. After the ceasefire of the Second Karabakh War, Moscow monopolized the Minsk Process by practically excluding the two other co-chairs, the US and France. As Russia is now almost at war with NATO in Ukraine, the Minsk Process co-chairs may not be able to convene a meeting, but Russia may still stick to the process for the sake of remaining in command.
After the Second Karabakh War, a broad agreement was reached to set up a Joint Border Commission whose tasks would be twofold. One is the process of defining the borders of villages inhabited by Azerbaijanis or Armenians. In the almost seven decades of the Soviet era, it did not matter much whether a particular village was inhabited by Azerbaijanis or Armenians because they both were Soviet citizens. Neither did the borders of the village matter, whereas borders may now become a crucial issue. Russian archives will now become important because original borders were delineated by Josef Stalin in 1921. Russia will probably use this leverage to counterbalance EU-mediated negotiations.
The second task is demarcation, the process of physically marking the border by erecting poles.
Azerbaijan will not oppose committing itself to preserving the rights and freedoms of its citizens of Armenian origin. Apparently, it was able to persuade the EU Council president that these international commitments must be observed, mutatis mutandis, by both sides.
A bumpy road lies ahead for both countries. Because of deep-rooted mutual negative perceptions, fanatics in both countries will raise objections to the process and attempt to interrupt it, but if wisdom prevails, such obstacles could be overcome by moderate and realistic leaders.

• Yasar Yakis is a former foreign minister of Turkey and founding member of the ruling AK Party.
Twitter: @yakis_yasar