Azerbaijan Denies Entry to Match TV Journalist Due to Presence in Artsakh

Match TV sports commentator Mikhail Mosakovsky reported that he was denied entry into Baku to work at the Euro 2020 matches.

“They wouldn’t let me into Azerbaijan. I was supposed to comment on the Switzerland – Wales match tomorrow. At the border, they saw the Armenian stamp in my passport. They asked me to wait. Then they took me to the area near the flight to Moscow. They didn’t answer any questions. They didn’t even look at my accreditation documents or the permission from the Azerbaijan Football Federation. I returned on the same plane. To immediately address the main question: Yes, I have been to Artsakh, many years ago for a football tournament. If that’s the reason, rather than the Armenian stamp from last year, then the Azerbaijani border guards have no questions. Instead, there are questions for the organizing committee. All accreditation requests are checked by law enforcement agencies. If someone ends up on a blacklist, why is there no notification about it?” Mosakovsky wrote.

It is noted that earlier, Baku had blocked the accreditation of another Match TV sports commentator, Nobel Arustamyan, for the same reason – he had been in Artsakh.