Press releases
Lukashenko on Belarusian football: There is nothing to watch yet
An archive photo
MINSK, 16 June (BelTA) - There is still nothing worth watching in Belarusian football, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting in Minsk on 16 June, BelTA has learned.
The meeting chaired by the head of state was dedicated to the development of ice hockey, but ultimately went beyond the initial agenda. “This is a conversation about the situation in sports in general,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
“Why did I turn to sports, not only ice hockey: people have already started criticizing the president for paying too much attention to hockey. If football players played the way our hockey players do, I would gladly pay attention to football as well. But for now, there is nothing to watch,” the head of state said.
He recalled the recent friendly match between the national teams of Belarus and Burkina Faso. The game ended in a 2:2 draw, although the Belarusian team had been leading 2:0.
“Well yes, Burkina Faso is a decent team. We were leading 2:0, it seems. And then at the finish as usual. What does this tell us? That we are not preparing properly, we are not physically capable of playing. Or the coaching staff, although I can’t say they started badly, led by [Viktor] Gancharenko, did not prepare the team well enough to endure until the last minute and secure a victory,” Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out.
At the same time, the president stressed that no one, including the relevant minister, can accuse him of neglecting football: “For people, ‘paying attention’ means giving money. Well, we gave the Minsk Dinamo players a minister [referring to Belarus’ Internal Affairs Minister Ivan Kubrakov, who also serves as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Belarusian Sports Society Dinamo] and funding. And what, did they start playing better? Did they shine in the cups, anywhere else? So there is no need to be offended that I pay less attention to football. Not less at all, enough.”
The president noted that it so happened in his life that he is now more often seen on the hockey rink. Perhaps that is why some may think that hockey is the number one sport in Belarus.
“Football and hockey are the major sports everywhere because they are mass sports, people’s sports. In my personal life, I have always said that I played football, not hockey. In summer – football, in winter – ice hockey. Since school age,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
print version
make home page
add to bookmarks
