Aras Ozbiliz: The Federation put pressure on my friends, saying not to support me

Speaking with Alpha News live, FFA presidential candidate Aras Ozbiliz stated that he could no longer work with the Federation for a number of reasons.

“I am transparent. My program is open; anyone who wants to can watch it. This is very important to me. I will talk about mistakes until the end; I will talk until the situation in our football improves. And if they want to use my program, no problem; I have done everything just for the sake of Armenian football, but now I don’t see that I can work with them. I will explain why. Over the past few weeks, I have learned a lot, I have seen a lot of unpleasant things,” Ozbiliz said.

The FFA presidential candidate noted with regret that he did not receive any congratulations from the Federation at the end of his career.

“I did not think that my attitude could change in one moment, but the Federation did not congratulate me on my career. This is very painful for me. When I retired, I was congratulated from all over the world for my contribution to Armenian football, but I didn’t receive any congratulations from the Federation. I am not against anyone; I am doing everything for the sake of Armenian football,” Ozbiliz stressed.

He stated that the Federation had also pressured his friends not to support him.

“This problem exists all over Armenia. If you don’t share someone’s opinion or think different, they think you are against them. When the Federation puts pressure and calls my close friends, saying that if they continue to support me, they will have personal problems, how can I cooperate with this Federation now?” our interlocutor noted.

Ozbiliz also touched upon Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s return to the Armenian national team.

“Mkhitaryan is a football player of such a level that only he will decide whether he will return to the national team of Armenia or not. And in terms of age, there are plenty of players who have played for their national teams until the age of 40. In my opinion, it is very important that those players who have passed that way can significantly contribute to our Armenian football and to our national team,” Ozbiliz concluded.