October 22 – UEFA have put a stop to all club and national team competitions in Armenia and Azerbaijan until further notice because of the continuing military conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Fighting has flared to its worst level since the 1990s with hundreds killed.
“After having carefully monitored the evolution of the situation which broke out late September – which has already led to the relocation of a UEFA Europa League play-off and two UEFA Nations League matches to neutral venues – UEFA is of the opinion that, at the present time, the conditions to stage UEFA matches in these countries are not met,” a statement said.
Clubs from both nations will now have to find alternative venues for any UEFA-organised matches to be played at home. Azeri side Qarabag are in the same Europa League group as Villarreal, Sivasspor and Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Qarabag Sporting Director Emrah Çelikel says UEFA have offered Hungary, Poland or Cyprus as alternatives but that his club would prefer to play its matches in Turkey due to close relations between the two nations.
More long-term, the conflict has cast doubt on Baku staging its share of matches next summer at the delayed Euro 2020 although the UEFA Executive Committee said that it was planning for the city to remain as a host nation as things stand now.
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