If Melikbekyan is elected, the most titled team of Armenia, 'Pyunik,' will withdraw from the national team: 'Hraparak'

According to 'Hraparak' newspaper, a few days ago, the owner of FC 'Pyunik' announced that since assuming office, Armen Melikbekyan’s Football Federation has received $70 million, the efficiency of which is highly questionable.

It is clear that as long as the authorities support the leadership of the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA), it is unlikely that the prosecutor's office will investigate press publications and statements from individuals, let alone initiate a criminal case on this matter.

Moreover, numerous reports have circulated in the media indicating that there are 'suspicious' individuals involved in the expenditure of the money received by the federation from abroad, frequently mentioning Minister Hakob Simidian's name. Specifically, just two months ago, it was reported that a construction project worth $1.5 million was carried out by a company linked to his friend, which has no prior experience in large-scale constructions.

Since Melikbekyan assumed the position of FFA president, not only have disgraceful financial records been logged in Armenian football, but there have also been numerous reports of various scandals related to bringing individuals unrelated to football into the executive committee, match-fixing, and the release of players from the army. Moreover, those released lacked the necessary qualifications, and now either are out of football or, frankly speaking, are not the future of Armenian football, and so on.

However, none of this has deterred Melikbekyan from assuming his candidacy again upon the expiration of his term. Just as in 2019, he is running for election now with solely the backing of high-ranking officials, the reasons for which we can only speculate about.

Interestingly, there is a peculiar silence from the fan movements amid the national teams' disgracefully poor results, teams withdrawing from the championship, and the prospect of the most titled team in Armenia, 'Pyunik,' withdrawing from football if Melikbekyan is elected. Yet, there is nothing but silence. In contrast, there were numerous protests during Ruben Hayrapetyan's time.