SUCCESS AND DISAPPOINTMENT

Azerbaijani football club Garabagh, which made it to the most prestigious club tournament of the continent, the Champions League, in 2017, opens a new page in the history of performances in European competitions. Gurban Gurbanov's team became the second best team in its group and became one of the teams to play in the 1/16 finals.

In the history of Azerbaijani football, Neftchi and Gabala took part in the group stage of the European League once and twice, respectively. However, our teams have not been able to leave their groups for the next stage of the tournament. Garabagh, which played at this stage for the eighth time, has finally managed to get to the play-off round of the Champions League.

Referees and fates

This season, Gurban Gurbanov’s team became the second best team in group H. The team was very close to be the first though. But it lost in the last round to Basel from Switzerland (0:3).

Interestingly, this time the Aghdam club suffered from a biased stance of referees. After starting the match with swift attacks, the team was treated unfairly in the second minute of the game. Although the ball crossed the goal line after Abdullah Zubir’s kick, the referee did not score the goal. Yet the guests did not lose their fighting spirit and thanks to Ibrahim Vaji were close to score a goal twice. But both times the Basel goalkeeper Heinz Linder did not allow the Senegalese footballer to show his best. Unfortunately, the opponent showed nice performance and finished the game with a 3:0 victory. Now with 14 points, Basel, as the leader of the group, can play in the 1/8 finals. Garabagh has 11 points and will continue to compete in the play-offs.

Incidentally, this is not the first mistake of the UEFA referees in relation to Garabagh. Previous mistakes took place at the most decisive moments of matches. The most remarkable one is the 2014 scandal during the match with Inter (Italy). At the end of the game, Gurban Gurbanov's team scored a clear goal, but the referee did not count it. Otherwise, Garabagh would have made its way to the play-offs. Despite numerous complaints to UEFA, the decisions of referees remain in effect...

Another mistake was recorded in the last game of the group stage of the Europa Conference League against Omonia (Cyprus) in Baku. Although Filip Ozobic was not in offside and scored a goal in the 64th minute of the match, the referee did not record the goal.

Financial component of success

Successful performance of Garabagh in the League of Conferences this season, earned the team a total of €6,391,500 (₼12,274,875). The second place in the group will bring Garabagh additional €325,000. Also, since Garabagh has improved its position in the Europa Conference League rating (12th) over the past ten years, UEFA will pay the club another €934,500.

Europa Conference League is a UEFA innovation. UEFA established this third competition for clubs as part of its reforms program launched on the continent. It has been the first time after a long pause that Garabagh failed to win gold medals in the championship of Azerbaijan. In line with the UEFA regulations, the club tested its strength in this new type of competition. Time has shown that Gurban Gurbanov can mobilise his team for any competition. Despite the biased attitude of the referees, the Aghdam football club achieved the main goal, having made it to the UEFA play-offs for the first time.

Always optimistic

Head coach of Garabagh commented on the last game of the group stage with Basel. He noted the hostile attitude of the referees. “There are even more difficult situations ahead of us. This number is growing. I don’t know why, to be honest. They often disdain the teams with low ratings. As if they sympathise with the opponent. We have seen this many times. Since this is a new tournament, the VAR and Goal line systems were not used. Referees seem to take advantage of the situation. They turn a blind eye to the goal, prefer not to score it... Although everything should have been the other way around. Had our goal been scored, our rival would have problems. Anyway, that’s on them. We don’t despair. On the contrary, we will fight against them even more persistently. We have to behave like professionals. These incidents only make us stronger. It is just a shame that they waste the efforts of our players. To play against Basel, we opted for attacking football and created many chances to score goals. We had, of course, some shortcomings. But we are not discouraged. We will draw conclusions from our mistakes and prepare even better for the upcoming matches," Mr. Gurbanov said

The veteran Azerbaijani head coach, Aghasalim Mirjavadov, also commented on the incident. “That refereeing was a big blow to the reputation of UEFA. Everyone saw that Zubir’s hit made the ball cross the goal line. It was a clean goal. Failing to score it was a strong hit for Garabagh. This discouraged the team psychologically. Garabagh did not deserve such a shameful loss. Had the goal in the second minute been scored, the result of the match would have been different. Anyway, Garabagh deserves appreciation for the game. It is going to be its first playoff match," Mr. Mirjavadov said.

On December 13, the draw for the Europa Conference League playoff matches was held in Nyon, Switzerland. Potential rivals of Garabagh ahead of the 1/8 finals are the third best teams in the group stage of the League of Nations, including Sparta (Czech Republic), PSV (the Netherlands), Leicester City (UK), Fenerbahce (Turkey), Marseille (France), Midtjylland (Denmark), Celtic (Scotland), and Rapid (Austria). According to the draw, Garabagh’s opponent in the 1/16 finals will be Marseille.

The first match between the teams will take place on February 17, 2022 in France; the return match will be held on February 24 in Baku.

Winners of the play-off will advance to the 1/8 finals in March of the same year.