World Cup 2010 Qualifying

[Haykakan]

Re: World Cup 2010 Qualifying

Not only that, but many players have taken odar citizenships to play for their leagues and eventually their national teams also. Every World Cup, i look for Armenian first and last names among players...they pop up where you least expect them.

By the way, I've been googling all day...does anyone know where they'll show this game in Southern California? I think most sports bars have Directv, not Dish Network. That place in Pasadena usually shows Armenian national teams playing but not this one...

You can watch it on videosport.com on your pc

[Armanen]

Re: World Cup 2010 Qualifying

Not only that, but many players have taken odar citizenships to play for their leagues and eventually their national teams also. Every World Cup, i look for Armenian first and last names among players...they pop up where you least expect them.

By the way, I've been googling all day...does anyone know where they'll show this game in Southern California? I think most sports bars have Directv, not Dish Network. That place in Pasadena usually shows Armenian national teams playing but not this one...

I haven't heard of this among Armenian football players, will you provide some names?

[Parskahay]

the big day is today

the soccer match:
armenia vs turkey is today
we gonna lose or win?
WE MOST WIN AGAINST THOSE MONGOLS!
maybe im gonna call that priests in athen to perform a curse on turkey's players
lol

[Alexandros]

Re: World Cup 2010 Qualifying

PM urges Turks to show hospitality to Armenians

Wednesday October 14, 2009

Security tight ahead of match between recently reconciled countries

By Ibon Villelabeitia - Reuters

ANKARA – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged soccer fans yesterday to keep politics away when Turkey and Armenia face each other on the pitch in a World Cup qualifier, as the two neighbors aim to restore diplomatic ties.

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan has confirmed his attendance at a World Cup qualifier in Turkey today, which will take place days after Ankara and Yerevan signed an accord to end a century of hostility.

Turkish leader Abdullah Gul went last year to Yerevan to the first leg of what has been called “soccer diplomacy” between the two countries, whose ties are traumatized by the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One.

“The Armenian president and the Armenian national team will see what Turkish hospitality is,” Erdogan told deputies of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) ahead of the game in the city of Bursa.

“I know our soccer fans in Bursa and in the rest of the country will behave like respectable fans. I believe our country and the citizens of Bursa will not bow their heads to politics and to the aims of those who want to use the game to achieve something else,” Erdogan said.

Turkish media said authorities will undertake tight security measures to avoid possible provocations during the game. Aksam newspaper said fans would not be allowed to buy tickets for the match, instead authorities would control ticket distribution.

Despite having signed accords on Saturday to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their border, Turkey’s demands for progress on the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan, could see efforts to end a century of hostility between Turkey and Armenia stalled for months to come.

Turkey stands to boost its credentials as a modernizer in the West and remove another hurdle in its bid to join the European Union if Ankara and Yerevan can seal the rapprochement, but for now Turkey says it wants Armenian concessions on Nagorno-Karabakh to satisfy close Muslim ally Azerbaijan.

Azeri flags

The governor of Bursa has said Azeri flags will not be allowed into the stadium for the match, media reports said, but Turkish nationalists have made some 10,000 of the flags and are distributing them in the northwestern town.

In the Azeri capital Baku, a group calling itself the Karabakh Liberation Organization held a brief protest near the Turkish Embassy, burning pictures of Turkey’s Gul, Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Protests are rare in the tightly run former Soviet republic.

Several dozen people took part, shouting “Turkey, don’t sell Karabakh to the Armenians,” “Karabakh or death” and “Shame on the Turkish leadership,” a Reuters reporter said.

Police later broke up the demonstration and several people were arrested.

The reconciliation deal needs parliamentary approval in Turkey and Armenia, though Sarksyan in particular faces vehement opposition from nationalists at home and the powerful Armenian diaspora abroad.

Link

[Haykakan]

Re: the big day is today

This game is hard to predict. There is nothing tangible to play for so the motivation of the players could be questionable. The turcks have a quality team but it has underperformed this year, armenians have a dangerous team but it doesnt always show up on match day. The armenian team taking the field today is much better then the one that played in Hayastan but then again this game is in very hostile territory. I am gona watch the game on my comp at videosport.com and you guys can follow the cooments of the armenian football fans at xtratime.org

[KanadaHye]

Re: the big day is today

Longtime foes Turkey and Armenia try to improve ties with 'football diplomacy'

BURSA, Turkey - Longtime foes Turkey and Armenia geared up for a soccer game Wednesday - an event that has little significance in the world of sports but packs a punch in the arena of international politics.

Armenian President Serge Sarkisian was to attend the World Cup qualifier after a dinner hosted by Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Bursa, a former Ottoman imperial capital. Gul attended an initial game in Armenia in a goodwill gesture last year, kicking off a round of "football diplomacy" that led to the signing last weekend of an agreement to establish diplomatic ties and open their border within two months.

The agreement needs to be approved by the parliaments of both countries.

The deepest dispute is over history and has yet to be resolved: Armenia and many historians allege that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against Armenians early in the last century, a charge that Turkey denies. The countries have agreed to set up a commission to study the issue, though they are unlikely to give much ground on their positions.

Police intensified security ahead of Wednesday night's match for fear of protests from Turkish nationalists who oppose reconciliation with the country's eastern neighbour. Both teams have already been knocked out of the World Cup qualifying, so neither can deliver a killer blow to the other's athletic hopes. Turkey won the first game against Armenia 2-0 in Yerevan in September 2008.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned against "provocations that might come from people who desire to abuse the process between Turkey and Armenia."

The agreement has strong support in the two countries' parliaments but faces stiff opposition from nationalists. Turkey has said it would send the agreement to parliament next week. It was signed only after U.S. diplomats helped to resolve a last-minute hitch.

A day after the deal was signed on Saturday, Erdogan repeated a demand that Armenia withdraw from the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia controls the enclave in Azerbaijan, which is inhabited mainly by ethnic Armenians. Turkey, in a show of solidarity with ally Azerbaijan, sealed its border with Armenia in response to the country's invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1993.

Azerbaijan, a regional oil and gas power, has criticized the Turkish-Armenian deal, saying it aggravates the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. A group of Azeri lawmakers were to meet Erdogan on Wednesday to express their concerns.

Turkish and Azerbaijani flag stickers were pasted on dustbins, electricity poles and billboards surrounding the stadium in Bursa. Street peddlers sold Turkish and Azerbaijani flags.

Kaan Garip, 22, said he would unfold an Azeri flag at the stadium during the game.

"I want to show it respect," Garip said.

Selim Kurtulan, a supporter of local team Bursaspor, said he expected no serious protests during the match.

"Of course, people may whistle at the Armenian team, we cannot prevent that, but there won't be any swearing or any disrespectful chants," Kurtulan said.

Earlier this month, Bursaspor fans chanted nationalist slurs against supporters of Diyarbakirspor, a team from Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast.

The Turkish-Armenian deal also faces opposition from groups in the powerful Armenian diaspora, which insists that Turkey accept that the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians during the final days of the Ottoman Empire amounts to genocide. Turkey says the number is inflated and that many died on both sides during a chaotic period.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/091014/w101451A.html

[Army]

Re: the big day is today

Azeri flags were banned by the governor of the province; however a regional administritive court found the decision against the law -you can not prohibit people from waving a legal country's flag-.

However, the governor then said due to security reason, they even can not allow umbrellas (sticks sticks... sticks of flags, umbrellas etc) and that way, Azeri flags would still be a problem...

But, court's decision is the final one... Governor has nothing to do.

Anyway, since this morning, it seems FIFA is trying to ban the flags again. I dont know the details.

[londontsi]

Re: the big day is today

The only thing I would be interested in is if they were asked to remove their team badge with the Ararat on it again.

[KanadaHye]

Re: the big day is today

It should be an interesting event to say the least. Hopefully the fans can remain civilized, the players are always professional and have respect for one another.

[Haykakan]

Re: the big day is today

The only thing I would be interested in is if they were asked to remove their team badge with the Ararat on it again.

Thats a very limited perspective you have. If the game, the players, or who wins and loses do not interest you then why do you bother posting here?