Baku - APA. We have not formally complained to the UEFA regarding incidents in the match with Dinamo in Tbilisi. However, when a banner appeared in the stadium, our officials approached the UEFA representative and asked to remove it. It had immediately been removed”, Gabala Footbal Club’s Vice President Fariz Najafov told Apasport.
In the second leg of the first qualifying round of the Europa League "Gabala" took revenge on Tbilisi "Dinamo" for the defeat in the first match and advanced to the next stage. Along with the players, the fans of “Gabala” have not left unanswered the behavior they met in the first match.
In the first match in Tbilisi, "Dinamo" fans beat rival "Gabala" fans, trampled down the flags of Azerbaijan and the club and insulted them. In addition, they raised banners against Azerbaijan in the stadium.
And in the second match banners have been raised by Gabala fans.
Talking about the incident, Fariz Najafov first touched the match held in Georgia: "Our main aim was to play football, to qualify the stage. We do not advocate such incidents. We are neighbors with Georgia, our relations have a long history. Instead of developing these relations, 5-6 masked, unknown persons with unknown patrons committed provocation. "
However, Najafov noted that a negative incident they faced in Georgia was not a surprise for them: "In fact, such behavior of Georgian fans is not a surprise for us. A similar event took place a year ago during a game between "Neftchi" and "Chikura." Secondly, today Azerbaijan has become a venue for both political and sporting events. Many people do not like it. So some provocative actions against such events are expected. But it seems to me that there is no need to inflate this issue. We have always had good relations with Georgian clubs, it should remain so in the future. "
The club official talked about the adequate response of fans of "Gabala". He disagreed with the disclosure of banners: "We strictly instructed not to permit provocation based banners and inscriptions to the stadium. As a representative of the club I do not know how the banners were taken to the stadium. We have done everything to prevent such things. Actually, I am very bad to burn the flag in any form. Such things should not happen. Similarly, if we expect respect to our attributes, we must comply with this rule ourselves. Regarding the incident with banners, it was a response of the fans to the events in Georgia. From the point of view of fans, it is somewhere clear. We are against the occurrence of such events in the game and approach it badly. "
According to F. Najafov, it is expected that the club will be fined by UEFA in connection with the incident in Gabala: “In this regard, "Dinamo" has not complained to UEFA. Firstly, this is not necessary, as UEFA representatives were on the field, and took the banners as evidence. In connection with burning the flag, photos were taken and UEFA see it all. Perhaps, in this regard, we are waiting for some kind of punishment, just as "Dinamo" was fined 20 thousand euros. But “Dinamo” in this context did not apply to UEFA with a written complaint. Just one of the club officials said that they are going to complain. We wrote them a letter and wait for a response. We want to notify the management of "Dinamo", that our club does not have fault in this.”
On this occasion, the vice-president of "Gabala" appealed to fans: "A certain task falls to the press. Our fans should know that such incidents should not be answered in this manner. It has a negative impact on relations between two countries. In addition, it affects seriously the image of our club. A very severe punishment waits for us. Even the next match can be played without fans. We play football for the fans. And such behaviors are detrimental to our club, and themselves. It should be supported in the framework of the principles of sport.”
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