Epress.am News from Armenia
Armenian Football Federation President Ruben Hayrapetyan is preparing to file a lawsuit against local Armenian daily Jamanak (“Times”). Meeting with journalists today, Hayrapetyan referred to a Jamanak piece in which the daily reported that Russia made an “economic offer” to Armenia in exchange for Armenia’s football (soccer) team losing its match with Russia in the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship.
“We might get fed up one day, spit on everything, I take him by the ears [referring to the Jamanak journalist] and ask him directly… dear boy, I know who you are, who your paper is. You can dislike me, but have some manners, love your country. After this I say, if anyone says anything about me, my team, I’m going to punish them. Why don’t you write your name, write it, this journalist, if he sees my face, he’ll get a stroke on the spot,” said the football federation president.
Hayrapetyan said when making an “offer,” it has to be made to him.
“I can’t be engaged in prostitution, that’s prostitution. How can it be, can you imagine, dear people, the situation you put us in? It’s football, anything can happen,” he said.
Hayrapetyan noted that during the 19 years of Armenia’s independence, Serzh Sargsyan was the only president who showed direct support for Armenia’s national team.
“If that didn’t happen, I would’ve resigned long ago,” he said, adding, “This is the usual intrigues of Levon Ter-Petrossian’s pack, wait and see, they’re drawing up new intrigues.”
“They print articles which compromise football, the country, the state. They don’t understand that those articles draw UEFA’s and FIFA’s attention, an inquiry begins. Who will sit down and negotiate with a country that fixes matches? You can’t do that, dear people,” said Hayrapetyan.