Minsk FC Player Gets Terrible Injury During Match

He was carried out on a stretcher.

On May 3, as part of the seventh round of the Belarusian football championship, Minsk FC hosted Zhodzina Tarpeda-BelAZ on the field of the Olimpiysky Sports Complex. And at the very beginning of the match, visiting player Dzianis Liavitski pushed the hosts’ 23-year-old striker Siamion Pinchuk in the back, and the Minsk FC player flew at high speed into a metal fence located just 1.5 meters from the edge of the field. Pinchuk was unable to continue the game and left the lawn on a stretcher, Belsat reports.

In this situation, let us pay attention to several points: the club organizing the games, together with the stadium administration, is obliged to ensure the safety of spectators and participants in the matches. The distance of one and a half meters from the edge of the field to the metal fence does not look safe, but this did not stop anyone. Liavitski also went unpunished for this push, and the moment of Pinchuk’s injury was not included in the official post-match video.

“It is obvious to me that a metal fence should not be located so close to the field; it is a direct threat to the health and even the lives of match participants. It is clear that this should not happen, and the inspector should not allow this game to take place. But the Olimpiyskiy sports complex field has been officially accepted for hosting matches of the Belarusian championship, and no one will take the initiative, especially at a time like now, it’s easier to hope that nothing bad will happen. After all, many times everything was fine. I am sure that after this incident nothing will change, and Minsk FC will continue to host opponents on this field, since from May to October major league teams must play on natural fields, while Minsk FC has an artificial field in its arena,” a former referee of the Belarusian football championship told Belsat on condition of anonymity.

The match itself ended in a 2:1 victory for the visiting team, with two accurate shots at the very end of the game brought by Maksim Skavysh. Tarpeda-BelAZ took second place in the championship. Minsk FC has no victories yet and occupies the penultimate place in the tournament. Due to the difficult financial situation of the capital's club, they are forced to involve young players, mainly students from their football school. But the club is doing well with ideological preparation; this direction is headed by former riot policeman Aliaksandr Yakimau.

This is not the first time that the actions of match organizers have created a real threat to the health of participants. So, in November last year, before the major league match Smarhon-Dynama (Brest), a special vehicle went to the Yunost stadium field and sprinkled the lawn with sand and salt. Because of this and the low temperature, the field turned into a skating rink and was not suitable for playing football, however, a decision was made to play the game anyway. Ultimately, this led to tragedy: the player of the Belarus youth team and Dynama Brest FC, Illia Bahdanovich, badly injured his menisci and cruciate ligaments and has still not fully recovered.