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Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the Armenian midfielder of the German football club Borussia Dortmund, may miss the Europa League group stage match with the Azerbaijani Qabala in Baku because of his visit to Nagorno Karabakh Republic. In case he arrives in Baku, he may be arrested, according to the website Azerisport.

The vice-President of the Russian Football Union, Nikita Simonyan, commented on the situation for the Russian Armenian information agency RusArmInfo. He said that Azerbaijan must allow Henrikh Mkhitaryan to enter the country. “In case the player is barred from taking part in Qabala-Borussia Dortmund match, either Henrikh Mkhitaryan himself or the football club must appeal to UEFA,” Simonyan stated. He stressed that Azerbaijan has no legal ground to ban Henrikh Mkhitaryan from playing for his team in Azerbaijan.

“If Baku creates obstacles, it would be a gross violation of football laws. Banning Mkhitaryan from that match for political reasons is out of any logic,” Simonyan said, as cited by the agency. He also added that UEFA must ensure that the footballer takes part in the match in Azerbaijan.

According to a Euronews report, the UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino confirmed this. He said UEFA also supports the clubs in organizing the away matches and addresses the problems with obtaining visas. “I think the situation around Mkhitaryan’s visit to Azerbaijan will not be an exception,” Infantino said. However, in case Mkhitaryan faces problems regarding his visit for Europa League match, UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations) intends to support him, Euronews reports.
During UEFA draws, Armenia and Azerbaijan nationals and clubs are kept separate.

Back in 2013, the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan published a list of people who had become persona non grata in Azerbaijan for visiting Nagorno Karabakh Republic, and thus are barred from entry to the country. According to media reports, the number of the names included in the list is above 335, which, however, does not stop the world celebrities.

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