Armenia national football squad manager: Tigran Barseghyan wanted to apologize, quit the national team

By Lusine Shahbazyan

Armenia national football team head coach Yeghishe Melikyan did not allow Slovan Bratislava forward Tigran Barseghyan to quit the national squad after the previous match in the European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, NEWS.am Sport’s correspondent reports from the meeting with Melikyan.

“After the match, Tigran Barseghyan wanted to apologize and quit the national team. I didn’t allow [it], because it would have been an emotional decision. I told him, ‘Don’t say anything, let some time pass.’

Barseghyan’s red card was not an incident, it was an unfortunate situation. There was no argument in the locker room.

They say, ‘He did not say, ‘sorry.’ But I didn’t allow [it]. I said [sorry] on his behalf.

The news that Barseghyan did not want to join the national team after I took over is true. I decided to talk to him. I talked [to him], and he changed his decision. Barseghyan is very patriotic. His emotions during the Ireland match were also influenced by that patriotism, as a result of which he received a red card.

If I had seen lack of seriousness, discipline issues, I would have been very strict.

I told [him], ‘Don’t leave the national team with a red card. Don’t end your [professional football] career with a red card under emotions,” Yeghishe Melikyan said.

During the 2026 World Cup qualifying match between Ireland and Armenia on October 14 in Dublin, Armenia’s captain, Tigran Barseghyan, received a red card in the 52nd minute for headbutting an opponent in the face during an argument.

And by FIFA decision, Barseghyan will miss the two November qualifiers against Hungary and Portugal, as well as one more official match of the Armenian national team.