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ARMENIAN TEAM DENIED ENTRY
[02:22 pm] 16 April, 2007

On April 16 the World Hockey Championship kicked off in Ireland. The
Armenian national ice hockey team was to participate in the C group
meetings of the current championship but our sportsmen were denied
visas in the Irish Embassy in Moscow.

Karen Khachatryan, President of the Armenian Hockey Federation finds
this a disgrace. `They deliberately denied us entry. I think there was
some preliminary arrangement between the embassy and the team of
Ireland. The Armenian team is stronger than that of Ireland. The Irish
secured their chances to participate in the next phase by this act.’

In Mr. Khachatryan’s words, the embassy presented unreasonable
grounds, `Armenia is a poor country, and the hockey players won’t
return to their homeland on arriving in Ireland. I want to remind that
the Armenian sportsmen have been to more developed countries but they
never wished to stay there for ever,’ says Mr. Khachatryan.

Presently, the International Hockey Federation deals with the matter
and Ireland will likely be punished for its infamous step.