Belarusian dictator Oleksandr Lukashenko scolded his minister of sports during a televised meeting, expressing his dissatisfaction with the fact that football in Belarus is not played at the same level as at the World Cup in Qatar.

“The World Cup is happening. But to Serhiy Mykhailovych, for some reason I did not notice our football players there. Or am I not watching enough?”, asks the Belarusian dictator.

“No, you are watching enough,” Minister Serhiy Kovalchuk shyly replies.

“Yes. But we are not close. Moreover, I compare the game of our football players with the game I saw there. And they play like that even in winter!” – Lukashenko expressed dissatisfaction.

“As a former football player who played a lot of football, it terrifies me. This sport, like many others, is in a sorry state. And when I appointed you, I hoped that you, as a person who was in the army, who loves sports and understands it, would change the situation,” Lukashenko concludes his reprimand.

Belarus lost catastrophically in qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar

The Belarus national football team finished last in Group E of the World Cup qualifiers, with only 3 points from 8 matches, which came in a home win over Estonia (4-2 on March 27, 2021).

Belgium won the group, followed by Wales and the Czech Republic.

In early October, Belarusian authorities arrested Vasyl Khamutovski, a two-time Romanian champion with Steaua Bucharest, after he allegedly took part in a protest against Oleksandr Lukashenka’s regime after the 2020 presidential election.

The former goalkeeper traveled to Belarus for knee surgery and was fully recovered when he was arrested. As a rule, he was supposed to return in October to the Ukrainian team with which he has a contract, FC Lviv, as a goalkeeper coach.

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