In the city of Stockholm, Sweden, prior to the second Europa League qualification round of the match between the Gyumri “Shirak” football club and the Swedish “AIK”, an unpleasant incident occurred. The Swedes hosting Armenians had put towels in the bags in the guests’ dressing room for the Armenian team members to take a shower. But after the game, the “AIK” administrator told the journalists that Armenians have stolen the towels. The entire Swedish press is full of this news. The “Shirak” football club members on hearing about this sued the Swedish “AIK” football team for libel. Now, the Swedish press, concerned about the situation, are stating the fact of suing. Caption: Anna Tadevosyan
In the interview with Aravot.am, “Shirak” football club press secretary Anna Tadevosyan said, “It was pouring rain and our administrator said that some of our players have taken the towels with them and perhaps after the nervous game, they had left them behind. But the administrator of their team, leaving the match, made a bombastic statement that Shirak players have stolen the towels. The next day we were in Stockholm, if there was such a problem, you could call the police and check on us. Later, the Armenian lawyer working in Sweden, Mark Safaryan, who is a close friend to our former football player Levon Pachadzhyan, told that the Swedish media, the press, the internet and the television were broadcasting it all day long.
When Mark Safaryan decided to call and ask the journalists about who the author of this libel is, the administrator of the Swedish “AIK” immediately changed her words saying, I was mistaken, I do not know where the towels are and I cannot prove that Shirak football players have stolen the towels. After the slander, she is not sure that such a thing has happened, but their media very quickly wrote about it in a wild way. Yesterday, Mark Safaryan has filed a lawsuit at the police station, it is a usual thing there that after the police, the case goes to the court. We have already begun the process yesterday, we have turned to the Swedish court on charges of unsubstantiated defamation against the club. We have written in the appeal that they offend the honor of the club and the dignity of our nation.”
To the question that the Swedish fans had raised white towels at the “Shirak” stadium, so what they wanted to say and whether with this gesture, they were trying to offend us, Anna Tadevosyan said, “The fans tried to ridicule us with towels. We were not raising this issue until the respond match, thinking that it is a very small and cheap issue, and not worth talking about it, but they continued to irritate the football players and instigate the teams against each other. The fans raised towels, and we, not to let them think that we have a problem of a towel, took them in the boxes to put in their dressing room, and wrote on the box “A gift from Shirak to “AIK”. No one from their leadership responded that after the Stockholm case and in Gyumri, they have contacted us and talked about it. The leadership in no way responded while the media reported that Shirak has reported an appeal”.
Anna Tadevosyan is sure that by creating unbearable atmosphere and petty and cheap stories, the Swedes wanted to make the Armenian players nervous and to make them defeat. And in fact, the Swedes hit the goal. We also asked how the Swedish fans behaved themselves on the day of Shirak football club and the Swedish “AIK” in Gyumri, and how true is our information that a large number of police forces were brought to Gyumri because Swedish fans were drinking quite often. “The Swedish fans behaved themselves very clumsy. On arriving in Armenia, they were constantly drinking. I even know that when drunk, they attacked our police at the night. The police were coming and asking us to warn them not to drink. We, of course, warned, but it did not work out,” said Anna Tadevosyan.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
Photos from armfootball.am website
