Epress.am News from Armenia
The Armenian side is ready to solve all the problems that could arise following the arrival of Russian football fans to attend the EURO-2012 qualifying match between the Armenian and Russian national teams to take place on March 26, said Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) president Ruben Hayrapetyan on the air of “Lratsutsich Zhamanak” (Additional time) program at Public TV of Armenia.
After the mass disorders following the killing of Moscow’s Spartak football fan the problem of Russian football fans has become even more pressing. In reply to the journalist’s remark that in the internet forums the Russian football fans have already announced their readiness to arrive in Armenia in large numbers and to create a tense situation in the stadium, Ruben Hayrapetyan said that the Armenian law-enforcement bodies would keep the situation under control.
“The Russian part will receive 5% of the overall number of tickets for the match – about 725, that means that the number of Russian football fans will not go beyond this number, of course of the Armenians don’t buy tickets and resell them to the Russian fans,” said Hayrapetyan. According to him, the Armenian side is ready to keep under control the Russian fans at their arrival at Yerevan airport and everywhere in the city to prevent any mass disorders. FFA president noted that in this regard it would be more alarming the match between the Russian and Armenian national teams to take place in Moscow on June 24 where serious security measures should be undertaken.
Ruben Hayrapetyan also recurred to the opinions of Russian experts and journalists appeared recently in Russian mass media according to which the Russian national team would get 6 points from Armenian-Russia two matches. According to FFA president, all this would help the Armenian team to play more vigorously and solidarily. He noted that the Armenian national team is well prepared to face their adversaries and would not yield to any psychological pressure. He promised to revert to this issue more in detail before the first match between the Armenian and Russian national teams.