“Azerbaijan’s position is that sport and policy should not be made the same and the sport should not be used for political aims”

“Over 100 Armenian or Armenian origin foreign sportsmen attended the sport events and the First European Games held in Azerbaijan during past five years”, Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev told while commenting the issue that, Armenian footballer Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who plays as a midfielder for German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, which will compete with Azerbaijani club Gabala UEFA European League group stage. According to him, Azerbaijan hosted over 300 international sport events during past decade:

“These events include the 3rd World Boxing Championship among youths, European Championship on free-style, Greco roman and women’s wrestling, the 16th World Boxing Championship, World Masters International Judo tournament, Grand-Prix and Grand Slam tournaments as well as European Championships for Rhythmic Gymnastics, Gabala International Shooting Tournament. Over 100 Armenian or Armenian origin foreign sportsmen attended the sport events and the First European Games held in Azerbaijan during past five years. It’s planned to hold several international sport events in our country in the years coming. That’s very gratifying that our two football clubs will compete in the Europa League. Participating in such competitions, every country obeys UEFA rules and hosts matches on the basis of these rules. One of football type of sport is that it’s in a team forms. In this type, the main issue is a team, but not individuals. Borussia Dortmund’s visit to Azerbaijan can be a team’s visit”.

Hajiyev noted that Azerbaijan’s position is that sport and policy should not be made the same and the sport should not be used for political aims: “Regarding the list of "persona non-grata, every case here is considered individually”.

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