Scandal: Vardan Minasyan Refuses to Shake Hands, FFA Decides to Terminate Coaching Position

On May 12, "Ararat-Armenia" won the Armenian Cup for the first time in history by defeating "Urartu" in a post-match penalty shootout. However, after the match, the head coach of the winning team, Vardan Minasyan, did not attend the award ceremony. He refused to show up and shake hands with the current leaders of the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA), as reported by 168.am.

According to ArmSport, Minasyan and his assistant Arthur Mkrtchyan did not collect their medals due to disputes with the FFA's leadership. Later, the coaches joined the team’s players from the technical area to participate in the celebrations.

Sources from ArmSport indicate that the FFA may react very harshly to this incident. In particular, it has recently been reported that the FFA intends to allocate half of the Avan academy free of charge as a donation to "Ararat-Armenia." However, after yesterday's incident, this process may be frozen.

The site also reported that "Ararat-Armenia" may lose the opportunity to have a proper training ground ahead of their championship match against "Noah" scheduled for May 16.

FFA sources inform 168.am that the FFA leadership intends to strip Vardan Minasyan of his coaching position. The same sources also note that some in the FFA advised against such actions, as it could spark a significant scandal given the already tense situation in the country.