TURKS CONDEMNED TO DEATH THE FRENCH FOOTBALL PLAYER YURI DJORKAEFF

PanARMENIAN.Net - 15.11.2000, MEDIAMAX, YEREVAN. Famous French football player, world and Europe champion Yuri Djorkaeff refused to take part in the unofficial match of the Turkish and French teams, to take place today in Istanbul, because the Turks threatened him with death. His teammate Emmanuel Petite told about this, the football publication Onefootball.com informs.

Yuri Djorkaeff never concealed his Armenian origin and actively spoke for the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. "The matter is not whether Yuri has an injury now", said Petite. "In fact he refused to come to Turkey for some political reasons. The Turks had threatened him with death, in any case this is what he told me".

In August 1998, when connected with the 75th anniversary of the Turkish Republic a football match between the Turkish and the world teams was planned in Istanbul, the Turkish authorities declared about the unacceptability to include Yuri Djorkaeff in the world team, as he was actively speaking for the recognition of the Genocide of Armenians of 1915 in the Ottoman Turkey. The Turkish side named then Djorkaeff's invitation "a personal insult" for them.

On September 1999 the President of Armenia Robert Kocharian granted Armenian passports to two players of the French team - Yuri Djorkaeff and Alen Bogosian. -0-