23:34, 5 September 2018

Armenian judokas refuse to go to championships in Baku

Judokas. Photo: Mzia Saganelidze (RFE/RL)

The Armenian national judo team will not go to the World Championships in Azerbaijan, because of absence of security guarantees from the hosting party. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Sports claims that it has issued a guarantee letter to Armenian athletes.

"The country that hosts the tournament has refused to provide security guarantees to the Armenian delegation," the TASS quotes the press service of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Matters of Armenia as stating.

The World Judo Championships will be held in Baku on September 20-27. The prize fund in individual competitions makes 800,000 euros; in the team event – 200,000 euros, says the website of the International Judo Federation.

The above Armenian ministry has reminded that in 2015 Armenian athletes took part in the European Games in Baku, claiming that during the Games, referees behaved unfairly against Armenian athletes, the "Sputnik-Armenia" reports.

In its turn, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan has denied the accusations of the Armenian party.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in 2015, Khenrikh Mkhitaryan, the Armenian midfielder of the German "Borussia" Football Club, refused to go to a Europe League match in Azerbaijan for security reasons. Back in 2011, the footballer visited Nagorno-Karabakh, which is a violation of the Azerbaijan legislation.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 5, 2018 at 05:52 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.