LAUSANNE: UEFA announced on Thursday it has banned for life a staff member of Azerbaijani football club Qarabag for a social media post that showed “racist behavior” and “incidents of a non-sporting nature.”
The side’s PR and media manager Nurlan Ibrahimov, who was provisionally suspended on November 3, was banned for life from “exercising any football-related activity,” said the disciplinary committee in a statement.
UEFA, which runs the game in Europe, will “ask FIFA to extend this ban to the whole world,” and has also fined Qarabag 100,000 euros ($119,000).
In the social media post, which was later deleted, Ibrahimov had called for the killing of “all the Armenians, old and young, without distinction,” according to the Armenian Football Federation (FFA).
The post came amid the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Following the takeover of the region by Armenia in 1993, Qarabag moved to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
They have gone on to become the country’s leading club and appeared in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2017-18.
After losing in the third qualifying round of this season’s competition, Qarabag dropped into the Europa League, in which they are due to host Turkey’s Sivasspor on Thursday.
UEFA bans Qarabag official for life for ‘racist’ Armenia comments
https://arab.news/mwy7s
UEFA bans Qarabag official for life for ‘racist’ Armenia comments
- Qarabag’s PR and media manager Nurlan Ibrahimov has been banned for life, by UEFA, from ‘exercising any football-related activity’
- In a social media post, which was later deleted, Ibrahimov had called for the killing of ‘all the Armenians, old and young, without distinction’
CUPRA KIRO drivers excited for Formula E double-header in Jeddah
- Pepe Marti ready to build on strong finish in Miami
- Dan Ticktum hoping for a change of fortunes in Saudi Arabia
JEDDAH: Drivers from the CUPRA KIRO team said they are looking forward to getting out on the Jeddah track this weekend for the FIA Formula E World Championship.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is the venue for the first double-header of the 2025/26 season, with Rounds 4 and 5 taking place on Friday and Saturday.
Spain’s Pepe Marti, who finished ninth in the last round in Miami, is hoping to carry his momentum to Saudi Arabia.
“I’m very excited to race in Jeddah this weekend,” he said. “I’ve raced here in the past with Formula 2 and finished on the podium, so it’ll be good to be in a familiar environment for the first time this season.
“Obviously, the track layout is completely different, but we’re arriving here after consecutive points finishes in Mexico City and Miami so hopefully, we can maintain this streak and hopefully, aim for something that’s higher than seventh – our best result so far this season.”
Teammate Dan Ticktum is expecting his luck to improve after failing to finish a race this season.
“Jeddah is one of the best circuits on the calendar, and I’m looking forward to driving the track this weekend,” the British driver said. “We showed some good pace in Jeddah last season, and we have two races with it being a double-header. Hopefully we can score some points, finally.”
Russell O’Hagan, CUPRA KIRO team principal, said:
“We’re arriving in Jeddah after a short turnaround from Miami, but everyone in the team has worked exceptionally hard to put us in the best possible position. We were quite competitive here in 2025, and although not everything has aligned yet this season, we’re in a much stronger position now compared to where we were 12 months ago.”
Jeddah is the new home of Formula E in Saudi Arabia after six successful seasons racing in Diriyah.
