Epress.am News from Armenia
Russian media continue to report on problems with organization in the Armenia-Russia Euro 2012 qualifying match.
Note, despite having tickets for the match, about 400 Russian and 600 local fans were unable to get into Yerevan’s Republican Stadium named after Vazgen Sargsyan on Saturday. The police said the stadium was full. Unconfirmed reports noted that there were a large number of counterfeit tickets in circulation.
Soviet and Russian actor Igor Zolotovitski described his trip to Armenia to Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy (“Echo of Moscow”): “Before I begin my story, I want to say that all this doesn’t refer to Armenians [in general] and our friends who greeted us in Yerevan. It was a wonderful trip. The shame was in that it was terribly organized.
“The atmosphere was wonderful — before the crowds began to accumulate near the stadium gates. It reminded me of the struggle for VCRs in 1983, when women were hitting each other, regardless of age or other factors.
“Also, our tickets were never checked. Despite the fact that people were pouring into the stadium like meat being minced through a meat grinder. We had come with the children. In general, everything had been thought out in advance, our friends bought our tickets for 7,000 rubles (about $235 US). We were 11 people; we came 50 minutes before the game. Though about 400 people weren’t allowed in [to the stadium].
Leading football commentator Vasily Utkin responded to Zolotovitski: “It can be easily assumed that this was a complete organizational mess. It’s likely that even people without tickets were getting in.”
“I believe that this is a disgrace for the Armenian Football Union [i.e. Football Federation of Armenia]. There were respectable people there and people, it seems, had come for a holiday. And there was no aggression. Nothing was organized in Yerevan. Only the VIP boxes were organized. In short, we had a good time in Yerevan; we watched the match in a cafe,” said Zolotovitski.
At this point, Utkin, deciding to “offend Armenians,” comparing Armenia with Azerbaijan, said:
“We hope that some action will be taken. Russia’s intervention is definitely needed here. Let’s hope this story will continue. I will now offend all Armenians, especially those living in Yerevan, but I have grounds for doing so. Did you know, gentlemen, that our fans were not greeted this way in Azerbaijan? There, of course, likewise there was tension. But that’s a different issue, quite another story. But, in general, football matches in Armenia are organized and carried out much worse than in Azerbaijan, we have found out.”
Photo: drugoi.livejournal.com