Elmar Bakhshiyev: "There is a biased attitude towards my team"

"Araz-Nakhchivan" lost to "Qarabagh" 0:3 away in the return match of the semi-final stage of the Azerbaijan Cup and stopped the fight in the tournament. Sport24.az reports that the head coach of the representative of the Autonomous Republic, Elmar Bakhshiyev, answered journalists' questions at the press conference held after the match:

- It was a tough game for us. We knew what awaited us. We played two different halves. In the first half, we played as a team. In the second half, "Qarabagh" took the lead. I congratulate the opponent. We will focus on the last matches in the championship.

- It's as if you retreated to defense earlier. Was "Qarabagh" forcing you to do this?

- I want my team to be more on the attack. It is also necessary to emphasize "Qarabagh". They are superior to us in terms of level. They have a well-established team and stability. Small details decide the fate of such matches. We could have turned the game around. I know nobody will see that episode. The episode in the 25th minute could have been the turning point of the game. Somehow the referee made a different decision. The episode we watched is a clear penalty. Let me tell you about the second episode. We are attacking, they stop our attack and give a free kick towards our goal. Then he says he made a mistake. I hope that these mistakes against "Araz-Nakhchivan" will not be continuous. Double standards are felt. There is antipathy towards my team. I hope they will be objective towards us as well.

- What do you see as the reason for the double standard?

- If I think about it, I will be away from work. They easily give our players the 4th yellow card and put them in a penalized situation.

- Is the antipathy against Elmar Bakhshiyev or against "Araz-Nakhchivan"?

- It's a shame if they are fighting with the coach. The opponent touches the ball of the attacking team with his hand, and the referee says he slipped. I don't accept that.