On April 14, after the Azerbaijani flag was burned at the opening ceremony of the European weightlifting championship held in Yerevan, the country's athletes refused to participate in the tournament.

The joint statement of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan and the National Olympic Committee states that the reason for this is Armenia's failure to provide security. "Azerbaijani athletes can't normally participate in competitions due to psychological pressures in Armenia, where such an atmosphere of hatred prevails, and safety is not ensured. Considering all this, a decision was made to return Azerbaijani athletes to their homeland. Armenia should ensure their safe return," the document added. The statement stated that the politicization of sports is unacceptable. In connection with the incident, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan and the National Olympic Committee called for the international condemnation of the act and the imposition of sanctions against Armenia from the European Weightlifting Federation.

Regarding the burning of the national flag of Azerbaijan in Armenia, a criminal case has been launched in the Investigative Department of the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan under the articles of inciting national hatred and enmity by forceful application of the Criminal Code, inciting national hatred and enmity by using the position of service and insulting the national flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Office demanded the dismissal of Aram Nikolyan, a designer of Public Television and the head of the stylistic studio, for burning the flag of Azerbaijan.

Moreover, designer Aram Nikolyan said in a video that his action is the action of an Armenian who has never been a member of any political force. "My wish is that the Azerbaijani flag does not fly in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. If some think so, I should not have done it, then they should hang the Azerbaijani flag in their houses," he said.

Hovik Aghazaryan, a member of the "Civil Agreement" faction of the Armenian Parliament, apologized for the incident involving the burning of the Azerbaijani flag at the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship held in Yerevan. "I apologize to the international civil society that, as a citizen and a deputy, I did not do everything in my power to completely eliminate the specific manifestations of barbaric tribes and cannibalistic tribes in my people. It's a shame," he wrote. The MP was severely criticized for his opinion on this issue.

On April 15, the European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) issued a statement regarding the incident in Yerevan. "We regret that the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan had to leave the race, but at the same time, we respect it," the report added. The Federation reported that it directly participated in ensuring all security conditions of the Azerbaijani delegation until it left Armenia. The sports organization said it would consider taking additional measures.