Belarusian Football Chief Defies Sports Minister

A scandal broke out before the match with Russia's Ural in Barysau.

Belarusians Yehor Filipenka and Dzyanis Shcherbitsky, who play for Ural (Ekaterinburg), were not allowed to take the field against the national team of the Belarusian championship clubs in a friendly match at the Barysau Arena on Sunday.

According to Tribuna, Ural were told on arrival in Belarus that the players were not to take part in the match on the orders of Sports Minister Siarhei Kavalchuk.

The club was reminded that Dzyanis and Yehor are undesirable persons for the regime. Both players are on the Sports Ministry's 'black list', which led to Shcherbitsky training with BATE without a contract from March to July 2023.

However, ABFF president Nikolai Sherstnev - the initiator of Ural's arrival and an opponent of the blacklist - was made aware of the situation. According to Tribuna, Sherstnev himself contacted Ural and told them that they could field whatever line-up they wanted for the Barysau match, including Filipenka and Scherbitsky.

But the story didn't end there. On the day of the match, someone from the top of the Sports Ministry called Ural and "strongly recommended" that they follow Kovalchuk's instructions. It was not specified what would happen if they did not. But after the conversation, the Russian club decided to comply with the minister's demands.

The match between BATE and Ural ended 2-1 in favour of the Russian club.

Ural are coached by Viktar Hancharenka, who led BATE from November 2007 to 2013. He has led the club to six domestic league golds and several Champions League and Europa League group rounds.