"Is Marseille Armenia?!"

Sport, as a rule, is a humanitarian sphere. When dirty intentions are mixed with this benevolent activity, its essence and function at the domestic and international levels are damaged. Sports competitions mixed with misdeeds and intentions look ugly and disgusting.

Armenia's atrocities against its neighbors are also promoted by its diaspora. A short while ago, in a reaction to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s slogan "Karabakh is Armenia, and that's it" in Tehran in October 2019, President Ilham Aliyev said that "Karabakh is Azerbaijan and an exclamation mark!”. About a year later, he proved this slogan as Commander-in-Chief in the 44-day war.

On February 17, Qarabag football club from Aghdam, Azerbaijan, played its first match in the playoffs of the UEFA Conference League. The Azerbaijani representative was a guest of Marseille in France in a historic game. The game at the Velodrome stadium ended with a 3:1 victory of the host team. Experts say that the Azerbaijani squad played well against such an influential club as Marseille in France.

To be honest, it was not ruled out that the game would be watched by Armenians or the bearers of their false propaganda. AFFA Executive Vice-President Elkhan Mammadov also appealed to UEFA and the French Football Federation to prevent provocations by Armenians or their agents during the game, as well as against footballers and Azerbaijan. Apparently, the addressed instances either considered the fabrications of Armenia insignificant or did not prevent the provocation committed during the game in order to support their activities. Because during the match, the phrase "Karabakh is Armenia" and the state flag of Armenia were displayed at the stadium. Those responsible for organizing the game did not prevent this provocation against Azerbaijan. Therefore, based on people's diplomacy, the fans of the Qarabag squad have the right to respond to the French with "Marseille is Armenia!" slogan.

In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV channel on October 4, 2020, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in remarks about the position of France against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan: “If France wants self-determination for Nagorno-Karabakh, let them give city of Marseille which is almost half inhabited by Armenians and let them announce Nagorno-Karabakh republic. And let them give them independence. Let them give independence to Corsica, independence to Basques.”

The return match will be played on February 24 at the Tofig Bahramov Stadium in Baku. Therefore, we wonder what will be the reaction of official Paris, UEFA, and the French Football Federation if a group chants “Marseille is Armenia!" slogan at the game?