Armenia v Azerbaijan cancelled

[pineapple stu]

A wierd one!

They're both in Group A in the euro qualifiers, but as they're not on the best of terms, they were unable to agree a venue for the games, so UEFA have said the games will simply not go ahead, and both countries will forfeit the points.

Armenia were happy to play home and away, Azerbaijan weren't going to host Armenia and wanted a neutral ground for both games, they couldn't agree and so UEFA stepped in.

Sound very harsh on Armenia.

[sligoman]

Yet another poor decision by Uefa imo.

[Lim till i die]

Why don't they like one another

Didn't even think they shared a border

[pineapple stu]

They do. That's part of the problem apparently.

[DmanDmythDledge]

Is the bit to the left above Iran Azerbaijan?

[pineapple stu]

The bit with "Azerbaijan" on it is Azerbaijan.

Edit - I see what you mean. Possibly. I'll try and dig out a more recent map.

Edit eile - it appears so.

[holidaysong]

For those interested the Nagorno-Karabakh War between the two countries is the reason for the poor relations.

[ifk101]

The BBC had a documentary series called "Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places that don't exist" and Nagorno-Karabakh was one of the places they visited. I just googled it and this is what the BBC reporter had to say
"Each country was very different and had something special about it. Everywhere we went we met truly wonderful characters who were brimming with hospitality. But Nagorno-Karabakh was a place that made me quite sad because everywhere you went, on both sides, people loathed the other side. There didn't seem to be much hope for any improvement for the people there. With people still in trenches facing the opposition in Azerbaijan - there's the threat of war there at any moment."
So it's probably a good idea that UEFA decided to cancel this one ....

[CollegeTillIDie]

There are two areas Nagorno Karabakh and Nakechevan. each is an enclave belonging to one country inside the borders of the other.
Both games could have been played in Moscow as they were both dominated by Russia in the USSR scenario if neutral venue was the way to go or
a ban on away supporters for each game might also have been a way to go
( i.e. Croatia V Yugoslavia( Serbia and Montenegro) in Zagreb some years ago and the return game in Belgrade)

[Dodge]

It shocks, and disgusts, me that I have never heard of this war.

[shedite]

So does both forfeiting the game mean 0 points each? Surely if both home teams scheduled the game for where they wanted, and gave the opposition the option to turn up, then at least they'd both have 3-0 victories if they got a walkover each.

[galwayhoop]

It shocks, and disgusts, me that I have never heard of this war.

yep. a sign of the times unfortunately. amazing that big brother and other such sh1te makes our news and countries at war doesn't

'tell them what you want them to know'

[dcfcsteve]

There are two areas Nagorno Karabakh and Nakechevan. each is an enclave belonging to one country inside the borders of the other.
Both games could have been played in Moscow as they were both dominated by Russia in the USSR scenario if neutral venue was the way to go or
a ban on away supporters for each game might also have been a way to go
( i.e. Croatia V Yugoslavia( Serbia and Montenegro) in Zagreb some years ago and the return game in Belgrade)

I'm not sure either would've been happy with Moscow though ?

A nasty little conflict that time/the world has forgotten all about. I ddn't realise it was still brewing - thought it had been sorted years ago.

I guess UEFA probbaly just couldn't get their head around it and didn't care enough to dream up a workable solution.

[galwayhoop]

a joke of a solution by uefa. why not have the foresight to keep them seperated when making the draw origanially?

[pete]

It shocks, and disgusts, me that I have never heard of this war.

True & you got to admit though that Nagorno-Karabakh War has a catchy name to it.

Any chance Setanta could start a club football competition with teams from both sides?

[Schumi]

yep. a sign of the times unfortunately. amazing that big brother and other such sh1te makes our news and countries at war doesn't

This war predates Big Brother by more than 10 years, the basic point still holds though.

[Sheridan]

People wouldn't necessarily be aware of this conflict as it's been ongoing in its present form since the late 80s. ARMENIANS, AZERIS STILL KILLING EACH OTHER isn't a particularly riveting headline these days.

I think it's the right decision by UEFA. One of the greatest achievements of international football is fostering a climate wherein any of its participants may play one another in safety, with occasional exceptions (Israel, Iraq/Kuwait immediately post GWI.) The approach is that if you're not willing to put aside your differences for 90 minutes, don't bother competing at all. Associations which breach this ethos must face the consequences, just as the FAI team should have been excluded from Euro 2000 for their politically-motivated refusal to host the Yugoslavia game on the appointed date.

[lopez]

Are either of these countries the one that Borat shouted 'you bunch of c*cksuckers' as he passed their embassy in Washington?

[DaveyCakes]

I'd assumed that they'd play the 2 games at a neutral venues...Tblisi borders both....possibly a bit too close, so maybe Kiev or Minsk.

[Cymro]

Surely UEFA could have thought of some other solution to this. Armenia must be absolutely gutted, having beaten Poland only to lose their best chance of points in their group-twice.

What's more, they were happy to play home and away. They could, had they taken full points from those games, have been in a position where they could have very easily finished above Belgium to take 5th in an eight team group, which would have been a big success for a football nation of their stature. Very disappointed with UEFA here.