In a recent article published by The Guardian, authors Barry Glendenning and Paul Pellsham briefly discuss Azerbaijan’s Sportswashing policy when mentioning the Baku Olympic Stadium – one of eleven stadiums that will be in use for the upcoming Euro 2020 tournament. The stadium itself, which opened in 2015 and cost nearly $600M to build, is seen as “a vanity project undertaken to help them buy the respect of other European nations through the medium of “sportswashing”.
While hosting other high-profile sporting competitions such as F1 Grand Prix, the current government of Azerbaijan not only is employing sportswashing policies to direct attention away from its repressive policies and appalling human rights violations, but also to gain the favor from international powers to appease their expansionist goals in the Caucus region. Back in 2019, Arsenal’s Armenian Midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan chose not to travel to Baku out of concern for his safety when the controversial decision was made that Azerbaijan would host the 2019 Europa League final between Arsenal and Chelsea, while some British-Armenian fans claimed to have been denied visas.The Guardian Sheds Light On Azerbaijan’s “Sportswashing” In Their Euro 2020 Stadium Guide.
