11:54,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 12, ARMENPRESS. The Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) and the Pyunik FC issued a joint statement on the latest incidents that took place during international matches hosted in Armenia, when fans invaded the pitch and brawls took place between spectators in the stadium.
The statement warned that such incidents could have very serious consequences for Armenian football.
“Dozens of spectators at the matches, mostly teenagers, invaded the pitch, there were fights in the stands regularly, and a number of political demonstrations were held,” the statement said, at the same time admitting that the security personnel of the stadium also did a poor job.
“The FFA and Pyunik FC are working with security organizations to rule out such situations in the future. At the same time, even in case of having the largest number of security presence it is simply not possible to avoid such undesired events if we don’t have support from everyone, including from the football community, fans, especially the media. Such incidents took place during and after virtually all international matches hosted this year in Armenia, for which the FFA and Armenian clubs took heavy penalties. We’d like to emphasize, however, that the penalties are temporary. But in case of not ruling out such cases, the only European high-standard stadium in Armenia, the Republican Stadium, could get disqualified, and in that case the Armenian national team and the clubs will have no other choice but to host matches in neutral stadiums in other countries.”
The statement called on everyone concerned to prevent such incidents given the fact that Pyunik FC will participate this year in a group round of a European tournament and that at least 4 matches will be hosted in Armenia, and on September 24 the Armenia-Ukraine match between national teams will take place in Yerevan.
