Azerbaijani national team footballer apologized for his gesture

Baku. 5 September. REPORT.AZ/ 'Firstly, I'd like to congratulate all the fans of the Azerbaijani national team on the occasion of starting the qualifying round with a victory. I hope we will gain good results in the upcoming matches and prove that this victory was not accidental'.

Report informs, footballer of the Azerbaijani national team Magomed Mirzabekov said to the AFFA (Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan) after 2018 World Cup qualifying round match with San Marino.

The young full-back spoke about the gesture after the match, which caused wide discussion: 'The rival player came to me and asked to change our uniforms. I said that I promised to present my uniform to my friend and used that gesture. I assure everyone and ask to believe that the gesture wasn't intended to offend anybody, I apologize to everybody, who considered it as an unethical act. Each footballer of the team doesn't represent only the team, but also the country. I will be more attentive to avoid any similar action under influence of emotions and assure everybody that I realize this responsibility'.

AFFA declares that one of the key areas of its activity is to increase popularity of football and direct children, teens and youths to the healthy lifestyle, create conditions for avoiding harmful habits, contribute to prepare physically and mentally healthy younger generation for the society. Taking it into account, AFFA didn't stay indifferent to the gesture by Magomed Mirzabekov and gave relevant recommendations to the player.

Notably, the match ended with the win of Azerbaijani team - 1:0.