Serzh Sargsyan may not be (in fact, isn’t) the president we wish for, but:

Criticism he has received since Wednesday night’s football match v. Turkey is simply absurd and diminishes the voices of those who have just reason to blister the president with legitimate disapproval, but lose credibility themselves in pettiness.

In case you haven’t followed, here’s what happened.

At minute 16 in the World Cup Qualifier (from which neither team could earn a ticket regardless of the outcome) Turkish striker Halil Altintop found the back of the Armenian net with a header that any objective football fan should have appreciated.

President Sargsyan turned to his host and vigorously shook Abdullah Gul’s hand as if to say “fair play”. But because it was Sargsyan, lately branded as “davatchan” (traitor) by his detractors, and because it was Turkey (a clearly superior football foe, to say nothing of off-the-pitch history), the president’s sportsmanly gesture has been interpreted by some who apparently cannot separate statesman protocol from THE PROTOCOLS, as a betrayal of loyalty to Armenia.

“Every Armenian who saw that footage last night will draw appropriate conclusions,” said Arman Musinyan, a spokesman for the main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK). “I will just say that nothing else could be expected from this regime.”

Garbage. Among people of even nominal reason, the statement reflects worse on ANC than on their target.

Levon Ter-Petorysan’s mouthpiece daily “Haykakan Zhamanak” wrote on its front page Thursday:

“It’s hard to say what influence Serzh Sargsyan’s hearty rejoicing of the goals conceded by our team will have on Gul and what results it will produce in terms of the ‘football diplomacy,’ but it can be asserted for certain that it has been perceived very badly in Armenia.”

What a pity that Armenia’s president can’t even represent his country with common courtesy (and isn’t, by the way, Armenia supposed to be known for its gracious behavior toward foreigners?) without having a handshake and a congratulatory smile at a soccer match turned into an act of treason. This is how far a once-proud nation has stooped, to turn so far against itself as to try to make political capital out of whether a president should or should not have smiled when an opposing football team scored a goal.

According to online commentator, Hakob Badalian, President Sargsyan’s “joy” over Turkey’s decisive goal was out of line.

“Was he confused or took it as a good opportunity to please Gul? Either way, the scene was rather ugly.”

No. What is “rather ugly” is that pretenders to the throne they’d like to ascend with Serzh Sargsyan’s dismissal, are so simple minded as to take up his congratulation to his host at a soccer match as a cause for outrage.

As the president-led Republican Party of Armenia’s spokesman said in an absurdly necessary defense of his chief, President Sargsyan simply appreciated the athleticism of a goal well played.

Seems likely he is never going to see one from his own squad, so give the guy a break.