Armenia loses right to host Weightlifting World Cup due to burning of Azerbaijani flag

Anar Huseynov, a member of the Azerbaijan Weightlifting Federation board, has stated that the World Weightlifting Championship will not be held in Armenia.

The blatant disrespect shown to the Azerbaijani flag at the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan "was yet another clear proof that Armenians are still not ready not only for peace but for anything, especially for the organisation of any major sporting event", Huseynov wrote on Facebook, Caliber.Az reports.

“This disrespect shown to our flag should have been followed by punishment. On the very first day, we sent letters to international authoritative organisations and federations, established contacts and worked to ensure that both the moral and legal side of the case was answered so that this act by Armenians was condemned. Our main goal was to get Armenia stripped of its right to organise the 2024 World Cup. And we succeeded, despite the fact that the issue had already been practically resolved,” he noted.

“The joint efforts of the Weightlifting Federation and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan have borne fruit. As a result of our almost daily activities with the International Weightlifting Federation, at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the organization in Cuba this [June 12] morning, it was decided not to hold the World Weightlifting Championship 2024 in Armenia, but to transfer this right to Bahrain. Justice has prevailed!" Huseynov added.

To recall, at the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan on April 14 2023, 1982-born Armenian citizen Nikolyan, who serves as an employee of Armenia’s Public Television, together with a group of persons, intentionally burned the Azerbaijani flag.

It's worth noting that the Azerbaijani team did not participate in the opening ceremony.

The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office has placed Aram Nikolyan on the international wanted list in response to his provocative actions.

Nikolyan was prosecuted and put on an international wanted list on April 19, as a preventive measure.