Idman.biz
Tensions have arisen between the Sportlife.az website, which published Samir Abasov's behavior towards the referees after the "Qarabagh" - "Neftchi" match in the XI round of the Azerbaijan Premier League, and the capital club.
Idman.Biz reports that Miralam Hasanli, the editor-in-chief of Sportlife.az, made a statement on his Facebook account with this claim.
He claimed that he faced pressure from the "Neftchi" press service:
After the "Neftchi" club's match against "Qarabagh" on November 9, the head coach of the team, Samir Abasov, using an expression against the referee that contradicted ethical norms, was accidentally filmed by our employee, and this fact was published because it was of public interest.
The video in question did not carry any manipulation, personal interest or bias. The aim was to draw attention to the culture of behavior in sports and to contribute to the preservation of a healthy sports environment. Later, the club's press secretary contacted me via "WhatsApp" about deleting the video. However, as the editor-in-chief, I refused this offer, remaining true to my professional duty and journalistic ethics.
In addition, in December of last year, the club's media coordinator Rustam Afsarli made an unprofessional request to me to remove the name of Hafiz Zeynalov, the chairman of the Supervisory Board of "Neftchi", from the material I was preparing, and I refused at that time as well. Such attempts at interference should also be considered as an attempt to influence journalistic activity."
It should be reminded that the AFFA Disciplinary Committee punished Samir Abasov, the head coach of "Neftchi". The reason for this was the expert insulting the referee after the match against "Qarabagh" in the XI round of the Misli Premier League. The head coach will not be able to be with his team for four games. The club was fined 10,000 manats.
For your information, the "Neftchi" management has not yet commented on the material published by Sportlife.az.
