YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Armenia’s government has indicated its disapproval of an Armenian cross-country skier’s refusal to advertise Azerbaijan during a recent ski race in Italy.
Mikael Mikaelyan competed in the annual Tour de Ski event December 28 to January 4. Like other participants, he was handed a race bib bearing the word “Azerbaijan” in line with a sponsorship deal signed by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) with the Azerbaijani government last year. He covered the inscription with a white tape and was fined by the organizers as a result.
“They said, ‘We understand you, but according to the FIS rules, all sponsors must be visible,’” Mikaelyan told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service last week. “For me, my dignity, my homeland are more important… I cannot think that this is unrelated to politics and enter the competition without covering the name of a country that is aggressively disposed towards my homeland.”
Mikaelyan, 26, received an outpouring of support on social media and the full backing of the Armenian Ski Federation. Its chairman, Gagik Sargsyan, said the federation is ready to pay the fine as are many Armenians.
Sargsyan announced at the same time that he is planning to challenge the financial penalty in an international sporting arbitration body or even the European Court of Human Rights.
The Azerbaijani government’s tourism agency, which signed the five-year sponsorship deal, lodged a formal complaint with the FIS earlier this week. It said the international federation must make sure that all skiers avoid “manifestations of ethnic hatred, racism and xenophobia.”
