Keep Your Karabakh Issues to Yourselves: Kazakh Football Fans Protest

A statement by Kazakhstani FC Atryrau’s new coach, Ramiz Mammadov (pictured), that he will not work for a team with Armenian players has outraged fans and supporters.

Note that former striker with Armenia’s youth team Tigran Gharabaghtsyan currently plays for FC Atyrau.

In an interview with Azerifootball.com, the Azeri coach said, “As far as I know, Gharabaghtsyan no longer plays for Atyrau. However, if that’s not the case, I will talk to the club’s management. If I’m working with Atyrau, there shouldn’t be any Armenians here.”

Atyrau fans immediately responded to this statement with an open letter:

“We, the fans of FC Atyrau, inform Mammadev that Kazakhstan is a multi-ethnic state, where representatives of more than 100 nations live side by side in peace, friendship and harmony.

“Kazakh, Russians, Azerbaijanis, Chechens, Ukrainians and members of other nationalities have always played side by side in our team. And in the Atyrau stadium, the football club has been supported by people of different nationalities.

“If you choose football players based on ethnicity, that speaks to your qualities as a person. It’s simply unacceptable to make such statements about Gharabaghtsyan. Your Karabakh issues do not affect us, keep your conflicts to yourselves and leave them in Azerbaijan. You are now in Kazakhstan! There is no room for nationalism here!  Such views are unacceptable in our country and in our city.

“Not having yet begun your work as head coach, you are already making nationalist statements left and right. You’ve already lost the respect of fans as a result of your Nazi views.”