Threats Against NGOs Participating in the HFF Presidential Elections: FAF Statement

The FAF fan club of the Armenian national football team has received information indicating that NGOs participating in the elections for the president and executive committee of the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) are being threatened. This was announced in an official statement from the fan movement.

They also declared their support for the candidacy of the current FFA General Secretary and First Vice President, Armen Melikbekyan.

“About a month ago, after the implementation of 2 out of the 3 demands initiated by the FAF—namely, the resignation of the FFA president and the FFA executive committee—FAF made an internal decision. While maintaining neutrality in the presidential elections, we are working towards the fulfillment of the 3rd demand concerning the filtering out of fake NGOs. Following Ruben Hayrapetyan's recent interview where he publicly confirmed support for Tovmas Grigoryan and participation in the campaign, we can state that our three-year struggle against Ruben Hayrapetyan's dictatorial regime and dirty practices is not over, and it is entering its final, decisive phase.

According to the data we have received, during the campaign, threats have been directed both at the leaders of the NGOs participating in the elections and at the representatives of the fan movement.

We can now confirm that the possible return of Ruben Hayrapetyan and his entire team will manifest through Tovmas Grigoryan.

Our mission in this presidential election will be to exclude the return of the old regime. Although we do not have a candidate of our own, we have decided to support Armen Melikbekyan in the current situation, who has not been involved in the dirty games of the past and we believe can lead Armenian football on the path of cleansing.

We have objections regarding various provisions of Armen Melikbekyan's football program and his existing team, and we will present our vision and demands should he become the president of the FFA. The assessment of the work done will be given after a reasonable period of time in the position of FFA president.”