Before Borussia Dortmund’s game against Azerbaijan’s Qabala in UEFA Europe League, a crisis erupted because Armenians weren’t allowed to enter Azerbaijan.
The political tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia spread to UEFA Europe League games. Playing for Borussia Dortmund, Armenian football player Henrikh Mkhitaryan might be skipping this important game, because Azerbaijani government doesn’t allow Armenians to enter Azerbaijan.
Azeribaijani government doesn’t allow Armenians to enter Azerbaijan regardless of their nationality. On the other hand, UEFA doesn’t want any player to be prevented from participating in an away game because of political problems. Given that Azerbaijan has a strict attitude about this issue, UEFA’s attitude is wondered.
Since the draw that put the two teams in the same group, it has been discussed that this game might cause a diplomatic crisis and Azerbaijani media claimed that Mkhitaryan’s charity trip to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2012 is enough for not allowing him to enter Azerbaijan. Some even suggested that Mkhitaryan should be arrested for “illegally crossing the border of Azerbaijan”.
Dortmund’s executive director Hans-Joachim Watzke told Bild that they had considered the situation connected with strained relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and saw that they would have to take care of the player’s security. Therefore, he said, Mkhitaryan is likely to skip the game scheduled for October 22.
The game between Borussia Dortmund and Qabala will take place on October 22 in Baku. People wait for UEFA’s statement.
