F91 Dudelange - Qarabag, or when a bland football match between modest teams results in a diplomatic incident: Thursday in Luxembourg, a drone with a flag of the Upper Karabakh separatist region took center stage in the Europa League game.

30 minute match. While the Luxembourg club loses 0-2 and sees the three points evaporate, it is precisely towards the sky where the eyes of the Josy-Barthel stadium are directed.

What is the object that got all the attention? A drone remote control from the roof of the neighboring tennis club, according to the newspaper 'L'Essentiel', which sports a flag of the separatist region of Upper Karabakh, belonging to Azerbaijan but mostly Armenian. Initially based in Agdam, a city located in that region, since the bloody conflict of the 1990s between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Qarabag plays in the capital Baku.

The referee stopped the game as soon as he noticed the presence of the flying gadget and urged the 22 players to get into the locker room. But the Azeris, falling into provocation, took the ball and improvised a drone throwing exercise, without beating it down.

Qarabag fans invade the pitch, while the drone pilot continues the provocation by lowering the engine a few meters, before a sharp ascent.

Official apologies

Present in the game, Luxembourg Sports Minister Dan Kersch takes the speaker's microphone and apologizes for this "political provocation." "It was spontaneously that he (the minister) took the initiative to apologize for the incident," a member of his cabinet told the AFP on Friday.

"He tried to calm the reaction of the players of the rival team so as not to mortgage the Dudelange trip for the second leg (October 12) and allow the resumption of the match," the official added.

But during the game, on the English Twitter account of the Qarabag, the club posted a video of a person on horseback carrying an Azeri flag, with the phrase: "The #Karabaj is one of the ancient historical regions of Azerbaijan!" .

Armenian Nationalists

20 minutes later, in the same social network, the Dudelange tries to placate the spirits. "We apologize to our guests from Azerbaijan. We have nothing to do with this provocation," says F91.

The drone finally moves away and the game resumes after half an hour of interruption. The Dudelange finally lost 1-4. In social networks, the first rumors point to an action by Armenian nationalists.

The track is confirmed shortly before midnight, when a group, 'First Armenian Front', claims the facts on their Facebook page. "With this campaign we wanted to show the greatest number of people that Karabakh does not belong to Azerbaijan," says the FAF. Luxembourg police investigate the facts and UEFA could open an investigation into the incident.

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