All of Europe enjoys Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s game, but because of the Federation, Armenian fans are deprived of this opportunity — Arsen Nikoghosyan

Armen Melikbekyan and Armen Nikoghosyan have destroyed Armenian sports, former football player Arsen Nikoghosyan told Alpha News.

“The Armenian national team suffered a shameful defeat from the North Macedonian team. However, this shame has been going on for four years now, since Armen Melikbekyan and Armen Nikoghosyan have been the heads of the Football Federation of Armenia. This shame is happening not only at the national team level but also at the club level. These figures must definitely leave Armenian football, Armenian sports because they are destroying Armenian sports,” Arsen Nikoghosyan said.

According to him, it is not the coaches who are to blame for the defeats, but the entire staff of the Federation.

“Four days ago, the Armenian national team played against the Faroe Islands team, which has nothing to do with professional football. The second goal against the Armenian national team was scored by a fisherman, not a professional football player. This is no secret, it is all on Wikipedia. This man is a fisherman by profession. The main and only culprit of what is happening is not the coach, but the entire staff of the Football Federation of Armenia, including Melikbekyan and Nikoghosyan, who must immediately leave their positions,” he noted.

He stressed that there is a dictatorial regime in Armenian football and many people are leaving because of their political views.

“Yesterday, a demand was made that Armen Nikoghosyan and Armen Melikbekyan should leave the Football Federation, and this demand will be continuous. We will continue to fight for these people to leave Armenian sports since it is being destroyed because of them. They are also the ideologists of some dictatorial regimes because they fire people who hold different political views. For example, referee Artur Tavakalyan was fired for his political views.
So, these people are making every effort to destroy Armenian sports,” Arsen Nikoghosyan noted.

He added that pressure is also being exerted on the club, as players are not provided with a stadium to train at.

“These people do the same thing at the club level, where the situation is more chaotic, because if the national teams participate in international games, local clubs play only in Armenian championships. There are teams that are not provided with stadiums, they try to infringe on freedom of speech, the teams are intimidated and sued. In short, these incomprehensible characters keep Armenian sports under a dictatorial regime,” the former player emphasized.

Arsen Nikoghosyan said that the protests will continue until Armen Nikoghosyan and Armen Melikbekyan leave the Federation.

“All of Europe enjoys Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s game, but Armenian fans cannot witness Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s beautiful football. These people have come to destroy, suppress, and rob Armenian sports,” Arsen Nikoghosyan concluded.