HENO's Non-Participation Linked to Armen Melikbekyan, Stands by His Mother's Dignity

According to the newspaper "Hraparak," "The captain of the Armenian national football team, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, will not participate in the upcoming matches. The reason is Heno's bad form. Instead, after terminating his contract with Arsenal, Mkhitaryan has permanently moved to Italian club Roma.

Although he hasn't officially withdrawn from the national team, not participating in the upcoming games is believed to carry a specific reason and message. It's not so much his 'bad form' as it is a conflict with the President of the Football Federation, Armen Melikbekyan, whose election was described as a 'disgraceful show' by Mkhitaryan's mother, former FFU Executive Committee member Marina Tashchyan.

At that time, a campaign was launched against Tashchyan, and it is said that Mkhitaryan decided not to participate in the national team's matches primarily to defend his mother's honor, officially explaining it with his poor form. Critics of Melikbekyan's candidacy had predicted that Armenian football would further decline, yet the authorities decided to appoint a loyal person, even at the prospect of losing Heno and ultimately failing football altogether."