Henrikh Mkhitaryan (L) and other Armenia players sing the national anthem before a Euro 2016 qualifying match against Albania in Yerevan on October 11, 2015 (Source: Photolure)
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)—In an unprecedented show of defiance, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and eight other key players of the Armenian national soccer team have strongly denied allegations by the embattled chairman of the Armenian Football Federation (AFF) that they or their teammates threw its last game.
Ruben Hayrapetian, a controversial government-linked businessman leading the AFF, voiced the match-fixing allegations in a November 25 interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). He spoke following a series of street protests staged by the country’s largest football fan group, the First Armenian Front, demanding his resignation.
The fans hold him responsible for the team’s poor performance in the qualifying campaign for the 2016 European football championship in France. They point to his long-running interference in the selection of players and failure to hire a renowned coach.
Armenia ended the Euro 2016 campaign on October 11 with a 0-3 home defeat to Albania. Hayrapetian spoke of “treasonâ€
