FAIR PLAY

It was the first time Azerbaijani footballers could stay in the European Cup season till winter. Also, it was the first time Garabagh FC from Aghdam got qualified to play in the group stage of the UEFA Conference League and made it to the play-offs. The opponent of Gurban Gurbanov's team was Marseille (France), which is considered one of the favourites of the tournament.

The away (1-3) and home (0-3) defeats put an end to Garabagh’s performance in Europe. In fact, Marseille were rightly regarded as a favourite of the competition. While optimistic fans were waiting for another sensation from the Aghdam club, the French stepped up to the 1/8 finals winning in both matches.

By the way, in the return match, there was also a remarkable yet a rare incident in the football history. After Garabagh’s forward Ibrahim Wadji scored a goal after a cross from the flank and the main referee awarded it, Marseille players categorically disagreed with the decision. Meanwhile, Garabagh’s head coach Gurban Gurbanov called Wadji and asked for his explanation of the incident. He admitted that he played with his hand. Then Gurbanov told Wadji to say the same to the referee, which he did. Thus, the Polish referee Bartosz Frankowski annulled the goal. Although Garabagh have repeatedly suffered from refereeing errors in European competitions, Gurban Gurbanov opted for fair play in the above situation.   

This is how Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA General Secretary, commented on the episode with the Garabagh head coach at the play-off match with Marseille in Baku: “Usually we celebrate fantastic goals, we admire them. But now I want to draw attention to something else. We have seen a sporting gesture from Garabagh. Even though the main referee awarded the goal scored by hand against Marseille, Garabagh asked for it to be annulled. I would like to say something to the Azerbaijani club: you guys have demonstrated a great performance in this tournament. But your fair play episode was even better.” 

Fair enough and as a true Azerbaijani

In his recent interview, head coach of the team, Gurban Gurbanov, has tried to avoid answering numerous questions about the ‘fair play incident’. "I guess from now on questions related to this episode will be one of the hardest things for me to answer. And it will probably be widely discussed in the future. Really, I would not like to comment on it too much. I hope our fans do not get offended with me. I just asked the player if the ball touched his hand or he touched it intentionally. He said that he did. And I think I made a fair and square decision, like a true Azerbaijani,” Mr. Gurbanov said.

He added that he did not want to get anyone endangered in their rights. “I try to perform my duties with dignity. I tried to be fair. I have not even thought of responding to injustice against us; we forget the past events as soon as we are on the field. It was purely a game moment. I did what I had to do,” said Mr. Gurbanov.

As for the 2021/2022 season, Gurban Gurbanov described it as a success: “The European championships were successful, although we could not become an Azerbaijani champion. We got qualified for the Conference League in a difficult period. And it was our first time in the play-offs. We tried to make our fans happy.”

Success without competition

Garabagh FC is an author of major successful achievements in Azerbaijani football. It has made yet another successful performance in the European competitions this season as well. Problems with the pandemic and failure at the domestic championship has not discouraged the team. It got qualified for the group stage in the Conference League, where it played for the first time and made through the most of the tournament. The fact that Azerbaijani clubs represent the country in the play-off phase of such competitions is a huge success. Weak competition in the Azerbaijani championship and problems with the development of new players contribute negatively to the positions of local football clubs. Yet Garabagh FC performs successfully in European competitions and is challenging European clubs.

The main reason behind Garabagh’s defeat from Marseille was that the latter is almost twice stronger than the Aghdam team. Not only in terms of budget, but also because of their experience. Nevertheless, we highly appreciate the Agdam club's progression to the play-offs. Thanks to its participation in the group stage, Garabagh is gaining experience and showing that their success is not accidental. By receiving awards from UEFA for their annual success in European competitions, Garabagh expands its budget and proves that football can be profitable.

However, we should also mention certain problems within the team. There is almost no competition for the team in the national championship. It easily wins every possible title in the country. To expect development in football in the absence of competition is not serious. It is increasingly difficult for Garabagh to repeat its success every passing year. Playing in weak championships, it does not really see the need for strong transfers because it is possible to win gold medals in national championships with the current team. And making transfers just for the European tournaments might not be justified.

Everybody is confident that Garabagh, as are leading team of the Azerbaijani championship in this season, will be a champion once again. The club has made it to the semi-finals in the national championship and is a real candidate for a second gold medal. No one can predict their performance in European competitions in the next season. But it is absolutely clear that Garabagh needs to get stronger. Maybe it's time for some players to leave the club. But this season will go down in the club's history as one of its most successful ones.