Marked for Dmitriy Sibilev
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Dmitriy Sibilev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Arseny Chulkov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Maxim Azarov is no longer first choice
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Maxim Azarov has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Market4 Jan 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Niva, another week without a signature from Vladislav Dybin.
Market4 Jan 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Niva signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladislav Dybin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market4 Jan 2027
Niva shop where it costs nothing
Ivan Vorobjev signs, and the fee column stays empty. Deals like this look small in July and clever by March — or they are never mentioned again.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Dec 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Niva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikhail Gordeychuk was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Igor Monich and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Dmitriy Sibilev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 89% of everything Niva earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Igor Monich has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Niva will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Artem Kuratnik knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Artem Kuratnik trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Maxim Azarov has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Maxim Azarov has written the date down.
Market28 Dec 2026
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Dec 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Niva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Pavel Palitsevich was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitriy Sibilev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market21 Dec 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market21 Dec 2026
The clock does Mikhail Gordeychuk’s negotiating for him
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Niva could ask drops and the wages Mikhail Gordeychuk can ask rise.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The formation has left Stepan Asharin behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Niva will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Maxim Mitskevich asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Maxim Azarov has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Maxim Azarov has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Dec 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mikhail Gordeychuk will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market14 Dec 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ivan Shikavka has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Azarov, and the manager let it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Maxim Mitskevich falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market14 Dec 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Ilya Rabeshko asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market14 Dec 2026
Igor Monich runs his contract down
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Niva money.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A new face in his position, and Dmitriy Sibilev suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Niva have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Dec 2026
Artem Kuratnik has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad7 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pavel Palitsevich was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Nikita Dovnar
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Uladzimir Arlouski has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Market7 Dec 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market7 Dec 2026
Nikita Paderin is 20, and Niva have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad7 Dec 2026
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Ilya Rabeshko asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Niva, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market30 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Niva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikhail Gordeychuk was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Voronovich, and the manager let it.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 88% of everything Niva earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Igor Monich has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Niva will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Maxim Zhabitskiy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes Maxim Azarov a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Niva. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Niva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikhail Gordeychuk was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikhail Gordeychuk, and the manager let it.
Market23 Nov 2026
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Maxim Zhabitskiy asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Nov 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mikhail Gordeychuk will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Niva have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom16 Nov 2026
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Mikhail Gordeychuk has agreed terms with BATE for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Maxim Azarov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitriy Sibilev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Nov 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom9 Nov 2026
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Evgeniy Mashagin has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikhail Gordeychuk was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market9 Nov 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Valery Hryshyn has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market9 Nov 2026
One of our own: Hleb Kavalyou joins the Niva first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Hleb Kavalyou is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Nov 2026
Only the photograph left for Artem Kuratnik
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Artem Kuratnik will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
An order from above at Niva: somebody has to go
Balance sheets do not care about form or about who the manager was planning to build around. The board have decided a sale is required, and the only question left is which name ends up carrying it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Mikhail Gordeychuk falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market2 Nov 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 88% of everything Niva earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Igor Monich gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Igor Monich is on it.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Maxim Mitskevich trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Oct 2026
Only the photograph left for Igor Monich
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Igor Monich will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Maxim Azarov gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Dmitriy Galuza falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at Niva
17 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Market26 Oct 2026
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Oct 2026
Dmitriy Galuza has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Alexandr Voronovich has agreed terms with Neman for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Dybin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market19 Oct 2026
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market12 Oct 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Maxim Azarov in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Dybin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Igor Monich
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Maxim Azarov has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Maxim Azarov has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Oct 2026
Artem Kuratnik has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilya Rabeshko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
95% of the income goes out in wages at Niva
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
When it matters, Igor Monich plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Niva, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Maxim Azarov has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Maxim Azarov has written the date down.
Market5 Oct 2026
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Sep 2026
Igor Monich has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Azarov, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Kuratnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Niva are still strangers to each other
17 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Market28 Sep 2026
He is 18, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Sep 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Niva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets21 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Minsk have kept their man, and Niva go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Maxim Mitskevich falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market21 Sep 2026
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Dmitriy Galuza asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager makes Maxim Azarov a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Niva. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market21 Sep 2026
The market said no: Roman Kozel stays put
Niva opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Roman Kozel stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market7 Sep 2026
Artem Kuratnik has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Artem Kuratnik has agreed terms with Dinamo Brest for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Neman have kept their man, and Niva go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Kuratnik is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Alexandr Grin
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market7 Sep 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Vladimir Skomarovskiy has come out of that comparison in the side, and Niva have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Aug 2026
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Marked 7.61 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Dmitriy Sibilev pops up at the right end — 7.66
7.66, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Niva asked and Orsha said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match29 Aug 2026
A 2‑1 win over Osipovichi, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
In brief
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The terraces
One of their own: Nikita Dovnar
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Squad
A row about effort at Niva
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Squad
16 new faces, and Niva are still learning each other
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Niva, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market24 Aug 2026
Only the photograph left for Igor Monich
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Igor Monich will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Niva's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Niva has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match22 Aug 2026
Dmitriy Galuza scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Slonim, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market24 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Aug 2026
Niva out of the cup
Gomel ended it 1‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Igor Monich has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Market17 Aug 2026
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Vladislav Dybin is a Niva player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Maxim Azarov in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Niva asked and BATE said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitriy Sibilev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitriy Sibilev, and the manager let it.
Match15 Aug 2026
Niva caught on 87 minutes
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Bumprom Gomel scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market10 Aug 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Niva offered $110.0K; Neman said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Grigory Komovnikov has, at Niva, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilya Rabeshko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.17 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dmitriy Sibilev and Niva agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match1 Aug 2026
Uni-X Labs made Niva work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
He is 19 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad3 Aug 2026
7 new faces, and Niva are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Evgeniy Mashagin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.