Nationalistic provocations during FK Qarabag match in Luxembourg

On 3 October, a drone flying the flag of the so-called Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh was spotted during the UEFA Europa League match between Dudelange and Qarabag. The referee was forced to stop the match between for 20 minutes, before the drone was finally removed.

During the half-time break Luxembourg Minister of Sport Dan Kersch visited the FC Qarabag players and apologized to the members of the team for the provocative action. He said his country considers Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan. He also said that the provocateur would be found and punished.

The incident caused reactions from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Azerbaijan Football Federations Association (AFFA). “The Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Azerbaijan monitors the situation with regard to provocation during Dudelange - Qarabag match in Luxembourg,” Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Leyla Abdullayeva tweeted.

FK Qarabag originates from the city of Agdam in Nagorno-Karabakh, but due to the war in 1993, the football club was forced to relocate its seat to Baku. The city of Agdam is popularly dubbed as the Caucasus Hiroshima. After the outbreak of the war, the Azerbaijani army made Agdam its military headquarters in Nagorno-Karabakh. After a government crisis broke out in Baku, the Armenian forces captured the city and the entire population fled.  Since then Agdam is under control of Armenian forces. 

See Also

"Caucasus Watch" seeks local specialists from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus region. We offer a flexible format of cooperation, competitive remuneration and access to a European readership. Send CV, cover letter and writing sample to redaktion@caucasuswatch.de. Questions: i.dostalik@caucasuswatch.de

Our website uses cookies. By clicking on "I accept cookies", you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with the terms of our Cookie Policy. If you want to disable cookies follow the instructions in our Cookie Policy so that cookies from this website cannot be placed on your device.