After the flag burning provocation in Armenia, Azerbaijani weightlifters returned to Baku.
A large group welcomed the weightlifters who returned to Georgia from Yerevan by road and then back to their homeland by plane at Heydar Aliyev International Airport.
Team coach Emil Aliyev told members of the press that they went to Armenia to compete, not war, but they were upset when the Azerbaijani flag was burned.
Stating that the Armenian officials in the organization acted as if nothing had happened after the flag was burned, Aliyev said, “I have been involved in sports for years. Burning the flag of another country in a place where the leader of a country is present is not an incident. They declared the one who burned the flag a hero. We cannot remain silent about this.” said.
Azerbaijan Weightlifting Federation Press Spokesperson Kenan Mesteliyev stated that they see the Azerbaijani flag as their own honor, and that they never accept the insult to the flag.
Mesteleliyev said, “Athletes are the heralds of peace. We went there for peace, but we saw that they were not ready for peace. We could not stand where our flag was insulted. We could not put our athletes at risk. Therefore, it was decided to return. Armenia is not a country that can hold such competitions. An Armenian athlete came, but such an event never happened.” he said.
Athletes’ reaction to the burning of the Azerbaijan flag
Vüsal Rüstemov, one of the athletes, said that they prepared very well physically and psychologically for the competition, but the Armenians prevented them by provocation.
Weightlifter Nazile İsmailova said: “We had great hopes. We would win a medal. But we did not like the Armenians doing this. We do not accept such brutality. Such a sports organization should not be held in such a country. They burned the flag of another country at the ceremony attended by the leader of the country. This is barbarism.” he said.
Weightlifter Ömer Cavadov said, “As usual, they politicized the sport. We do not accept the insult to our flag. Our flag and our nation are above all else. We will do our best to raise our flag in the next competitions.” used the phrases.
A weightlifter named Ali Şükürlü said, “We went to the competition to get a medal. We came back because of disrespect to our flag. This time it didn’t happen, but we will raise our flag in other championships.” said.
Azerbaijan withdrew its athletes after their flags were burned
At the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship in Armenia yesterday, while the national flags were on the stage, a person took the flag from the girl carrying the Azerbaijani flag and burned it.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan and the National Olympic Committee decided to withdraw the athletes after this situation.
Azerbaijan took part in the championship with a team of 12 people.