Jahongir Ortiqhujaev, the businessman and former mayor of Tashkent, has ended his involvement with football club Pakhtakor, according to football analyst Alisher Nikimbaev, who cited sources within the club. Management informed team members of the decision yesterday, August 24.
"It was no secret that Ortiqhujaev would leave the club at some point, but nobody expected it to happen this fast," the source told Nikimbaev.
The club's future now hangs in uncertainty, with barely three weeks to go before Pakhtakor's opening match in the AFC Champions League Elite — an away fixture against Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia on September 14.
A dispute born on the pitch
No official statement has been issued, but media reports and football analysts have linked Ortiqhujaev's departure to controversial officiating in Pakhtakor's most recent league match, a scoreless home draw against Surkhon in round 18 of the Super League. In the 93rd minute, forward Hojimat Erkinov appeared to score a stoppage-time winner, only for referee Jasur Mukhtorov to disallow the goal for offside after a lengthy VAR review.
The decision triggered an unusually sharp public reaction from the club. Pakhtakor's official channels issued a scathing statement blasting the officiating crew, at one point questioning the credibility of a match official it said had "returned after being banned for five years." Head coach Kamoliddin Tojiyev was equally blunt afterward, telling reporters he saw no offside in the replays and that the team had once again been "denied three points." Uzbek media later reported that a VAR error was acknowledged in the disallowed goal, though no formal correction to the result followed.
A patron with a complicated history at the club
Ortiqhujaev, founder of the AKFA business conglomerate, served as mayor of Tashkent from 2018 until his dismissal in January 2023 amid public anger over gas and power shortages during a harsh winter. He has since been described in Uzbek media as Pakhtakor's president and de facto owner, having taken on a leading role at the club after it was placed under the jurisdiction of the Tashkent city administration during his time as mayor.
His relationship with the club has not been without turbulence. In January 2024, Uzbekistan's State Assets Management Agency put the state's full stake in Pakhtakor up for sale, a move that was suspended soon afterward following public backlash. It remains unclear how that unresolved ownership question will factor into the club's next steps now that Ortiqhujaev has stepped back.
A team in form, with little time to regroup
The upheaval comes despite a strong season on the pitch. Pakhtakor currently sits third in the Uzbekistan Super League table with 39 points after 18 rounds and enters the Champions League Elite campaign as one of the league's top sides. The team's next domestic fixture is an away match against Samarkand's Dinamo on Tuesday, August 25, before turning its attention to the September 14 continental opener against Al Ahli — a match that will now take place without clarity on who is steering the club off the pitch.
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