Armenian fans reminded Hungary of the Safarov case with a banner at the match in Yerevan

During the Armenia vs. Hungary match (0:1) held on November 13 in Yerevan, a banner appeared in the home fan sector reading: “Welcome to Armenia. Here you can sleep peacefully.” The gesture was a direct reference to the high-profile case of Ramil Safarov.

With this, Armenian fans reminded the Hungarian side of the tragic events of 2004, when Azerbaijani serviceman Ramil Safarov murdered the sleeping Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with an axe in Budapest. Both were attending a training program under NATO’s “Partnership for Peace” initiative.

In 2006, a Hungarian court sentenced Safarov to life imprisonment. However, on August 31, 2012, he was extradited to Azerbaijan “to continue serving his sentence,” where he received a presidential pardon from Ilham Aliyev the very same day. Safarov was welcomed as a national hero upon his return.

The incident has long been one of the most painful issues in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, and Hungary’s decision to hand Safarov over to Baku triggered a major diplomatic scandal. Bringing these events back into focus during a football match once again drew attention to a case that remains sensitive for Armenian society.

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