Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been been defended by the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) president after being left off a shortlist of the nation's top sporting stars of 2016.
Despite winning Armenia's footballer of the year prize for the seventh time, Mkhitaryan was excluded from a list of 10 sports stars drawn up by the Federation of Sports Journalists of Armenia.
Federation president Ruben Hayrapetyan said in a statement: "We can't deny Mkhitaryan's contribution and achievements in this sport, and everyone knows about it, even those who tried to compose tales about how they chose the top athletes of the year.
"It's immoral that the overwhelming majority of sport journalists, who have taken part in the same voting, start their professional business with news about Henrikh Mkhitaryan and end it again with Henrikh Mkhitaryan every single day."
Hayrapetyan has spoken out in defence of Mkhitaryan in the past, having said on Oct. 31 that "no one" knew the reason why United manager Jose Mourinho was not picking the player at the time.