One of the painful places of Azerbaijani sports is the lack of sports lawyers in the country. Or rather, it was not until yesterday. That is why, due to the injustice of the referee in the game with "Inter", the leadership of "Karabakh" appealed to a Turkish lawyer - Gurur Gaya Gunal, not Azerbaijani, to protect the rights of the club.
There is no need to worry in this regard. There is Farid Hagverdiyev , who will defend the rights of clubs, footballers, in short, those working in the field of sports . To be honest, we didn't know him very well. We just knew the general information about. So, Mr. Farid offsideplusaz a interview that he has knowledge of, and continued answering questions.
- It would be nice to know you closely ...
- I was born on September 14, 1988 in the city of Baku. I graduated from Baku State University, Faculty of Law. I received my first master's degree in International Commercial Law from the University of Kent, England. I received my second master's degree in International Sports Law from ISDE University in Madrid, Spain. For a long time I worked as a lawyer in an international consulting company. At present, my main job is Azerbaijan Railways. In addition, I work as a lawyer at the Azerbaijan Volleyball Federation. I am also a member of the International Sports Lawyers Association and the Azerbaijan Bar Association.
- Have you played football, where is your interest in football?
- Like many, I have been interested in football since childhood. I first trained football in the children's team of "Karabakh" in 1997. Although short-lived, I remember that my brother and I eagerly participated in the trainings held at the Republican Stadium named after Tofig Bahramov. Our teacher was Aziz. Later, I moved away from football because it was tiring and difficult to go to trainings in parallel with my education. Nevertheless, my passion for football did not disappear, on the contrary, it grew stronger.
- Why a sports lawyer? Because you see a gap in this area, or…?
- Many people ask me this question, why I studied commercial law for the first time. When I received my first master's degree, there were no prestigious sports competitions in our country. That's why I preferred promising commercial law at that time. Nevertheless, the subsequent holding of competitions such as the European Games and the Islamic Games inspired me even more. Because I was interested in sports, especially football, I was more interested in the "behind the scenes" of sports, to be more precise, football. That is, if most spectators are interested in the game, the competition itself, I, as a lawyer, was more interested in the legal basis of the organization of those competitions, the preparation of documents of players, where disputes will be resolved. When I had time, I tried to increase my knowledge in this field. So I decided that get professional education in this field. In the past, the mismanagement of the Czech referee in the match between "Karabakh" and "Inter" also played a role in my choice. After that match, it was announced on TV that "Karabakh" officials appealed to a Turkish lawyer to complain to the referee. I thought that if there was a lawyer in this field in our country, "Karabakh" would benefit from the services of our local lawyers. In the end, I decided to go to Spain to study. Karabakh would benefit from the services of our local lawyers. In the end, I decided to go to Spain to study. Karabakh would benefit from the services of our local lawyers. In the end, I made up my mind and went to Spain to study.
- There is no interest in sports law in Azerbaijan. Why do you think so?
- Let me disagree with you. I think that Azerbaijan is already interested in this area. Especially after competitions such as Formula 1, interest in this field has increased not only among lawyers, but also among ordinary spectators. It is not accidental that for almost 2 years now, the Faculty of Law of Baku State University has been teaching subjects at the master's level in the specialty "Sports Law". After the opening of this specialty, I was also invited to teach, and I am very happy to share my knowledge in this field with our future sports lawyers. It is gratifying that there are not only boys but also girls among our students. This shows that the interest in sports law is growing. As much as I follow on social networks, many of our young lawyers are doing research and sharing in this area. Therefore, it is not true to say that there is no interest in this area. As our clubs and players become more professional, the demand for this field will increase and there will be a need for professional lawyers in this field.
With the sports director of "Sevilla" Monchi ...
- Have you ever defended the interests of any athlete or club in the field of football (sport)?
- Although I can not name in terms of confidentiality and protection of interests, I have provided legal support to well-known local and foreign football players, athletes, various clubs, agents (managers), organizations in this area. I have given direction on certain issues. Since our work is mostly with lawyers, we often have contact with their lawyers, not with the athletes and players themselves. We have cooperated in doping, transfer of local players abroad, preparation of legal documents, writing lawsuits and other issues. Among the people I work with are footballers, agents and athletes from different countries. For example, I can show athletes and lawyers from Brazil, France, Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, England, Turkey, Russia, the Netherlands, Uruguay.
- Can you share any unusual, surprising moments you encountered in the process of work?
- A year ago, when our clubs were in training camp, one of our clubs liked a player in the opponent's team. Later, the footballer's lawyer contacted me and got information about the club and the local legislation. Our club did not know about it. Regarding celebrities who are interested in readers, I can say that we are close friends and have close relations with the lawyers of famous footballers such as Diego Godin, Thiago Silva, as well as with the lawyer of PSG and others whom I did not name. Usually, these lawyers also represent lesser-known players, so we exchange views on the questionable points when it comes to their transfer to Turkish, Russian and Azerbaijani clubs.
- The case of Qarabag's press secretary Nurlan Ibrahimov remains open. I wonder if Qarabag can be punished for this in the final decision to be made in the future?
- ...
(to be continued)
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