Azerbaijani athletes, who left the competition after the burning of the Azerbaijani flag at the European weightlifting championship in Yerevan, arrived in the capital of Georgia today.

Axar.az reports that the athletes and their coaches met with Azerbaijani journalists at Tbilisi Sh. Rustaveli International Airport and shared their impressions.

Head coach of Azerbaijan national team Emil Aliyev said that our athletes flew from Azerbaijan to Georgia and from here to Yerevan. At first glance, everything seemed fine. However, later, at the opening ceremony of such a prestigious championship, the burning and insulting of the Azerbaijani flag in front of the country's president, prime minister and a delegation from Europe proved that all of this was a cover-up. Burning the flag of Azerbaijan among the flags of the countries participating in the championship is an obvious act of vandalism.

"Azerbaijani athletes participated in this championship with great enthusiasm. However, this action of the Armenians had a very bad effect on the psychological condition of our athletes. We thought that those who committed such an act of vandalism at the opening ceremony could cause more serious damage to our athletes during the competition. Everyone knew very well how seriously Azerbaijani athletes prepared for this competition. Our athletes came to Yerevan to win medals. No one could guarantee that the Armenians would not commit further provocations. That's why we refused to participate in the competition," the head coach said.