Zira head coach clarifies reports on his beating in Gabala

Baku. 19 February. REPORT.AZ/ "No one beat me in Gabala. This information is exaggerated. There was an argument in front of our changing room. This is normal. Such cases are normal in football. The vice president of Gabala FC Fariz Najafov was also there. We spoke to him about it. There is no problem here."

Report informs, the head coach of Zira FC Ayhan Abbasov said, while clarifiying some reports of his beating following the guest match with Gabala. 

The young specialist made the following explanations about the cause of tension between footballers after the encounter in which they lost 1-2: "Our footballers say that the opponents used racist expressions. It was an argument between them. I stand behind my words. I can say once again: Rustam Gurbanov was insulting our footballer throughout the match. He even used racist expressions. The footballers also confirm this. Therefore, they were angry. I told my wards to be patient no matter what happens. But I heard some of the words. I can say for sure that my footballers were insulted."

Abbasov reminded that the use of racist expressions was forbidden by FIFA and UEFA. He said that they did not want to be on the agenda with such cases: "A person should not be insulted for his skin color. They are professional footballers and they must respect each other. The matches are tense and we are witnessing tough struggles, but nobody has the right to insult anyone. But we do not want to be on the agenda with such cases, we have never been in such situations, and we congratulate the opponent even when we lose."

However, the head coach of Zira club said they would not file a complaint with the Professional Football League (PFL): "The player must be disciplined by AFFA and PFL. I am not the one to appoint one's punishment. The game was aired live, so there is no need for me to file a complaint. I have no complaints, everyone sees this, and the PFL also had an employee in Gabala, so I do not deal with those issues."