Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia clarifies incident with Wales  National Football Team Fans

ArmInfo.The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia issued a clarification regarding the incident with the fans of the National Football Team of Wales in Yerevan.

It should be noted that on November 18, the BBC reported that 32 fans of the Wales football team were arrested in Yerevan, who arrived in Yerevan for the national team's match against the Armenian team in qualifying for the 2024 European Football Championship. The fans claimed that they were detained illegally and groundlessly.

Against the background of the flaring scandal, today the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia issued an clarification.

Thus, the department emphasized: "On November 18, at approximately 1:18 a.m., a report was received by the operational control center of the RA Ministry of Internal Affairs Police regarding an argument and fight on Pushkin Street.  On the same day, at 1:39 a.m. and 1:43 a.m., the operational control center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs received reports that several individuals were assaulting a citizen near the statue of Aram Khachatryan.

Police operatives dispatched to the specified locations discovered that an altercation had erupted among members of the Wales national football team near 43 Pushkin Street. In an inebriated state, they rudely violated public order, engaging in physical altercations that resulted in injuries, and then continued all this at the intersection of Mashtots and Sayat-Nova avenues.  As a result of the implemented measures, 15 citizens of Wales and 1 citizen of New Guinea were arrested and transferred to the police division on reasonable suspicion of hooliganism.

16 more individuals were arrested for being in a public place under the influence of alcohol, taken to the department, and then released.  The prepared documents and 16 persons were submitted to the investigation department, where criminal proceedings were initiated.  It is important to note that participants in the incident have disseminated information through the media, much of which does not align with the actual events. We strongly urge against the publication of unverified and inaccurate information," the Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs concluded.

Yesterday, the Investigative Committee of Armenia reported that, following an incident with fans of the Wales National Football Team, a criminal case had been opened under clause 2, part 5 of Article 195 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (beatings or other violent acts committed by a group of persons). The maximum term of imprisonment under it is up to two years.