Qarabag players, officials reprimanded over military salute

(Reuters) - Players and officials from Azeri club Qarabag have been reprimanded by UEFA for performing a military salute during their Europa League qualifying match away to Legia Warsaw on Oct. 1.

The European soccer body said that the gesture was "considered as inappropriate given the specific political context at the time of the match." The club was also reprimanded, UEFA said in its statement.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are involved in a conflict over the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has killed hundreds of people since fighting flared on Sept. 27, raising fears of a wider war drawing in Turkey and Russia.

UEFA listed 13 players and 14 officials who gave the salute, which it described as an incident of a non-sporting nature. Qarabag won the match 3-0 to reach the group stage, where they face Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Sivasspor.

On Tuesday, UEFA banned any club or national team matches in its competitions from taking place in either country until further notice.

Azerbaijan is one of 12 countries due to co-host the Euro 2020 tournament, which will take place in June and July.

Qarabag have won the Azeri league for the last seven years in a row.

(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Toby Davis)