15 Feb 2027
Monday
Process
28 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Transfer targets

No thanks: Preslav Bachev rejects the move

Gomel had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Arda, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Squad

A falling-out at Gomel

Viktor Sotnikov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Vladislav Lazarev 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Marko Čavara

Gomel asked and ND Gorica said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

Pavel Sergutko out for 15 days

The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Pavel Sergutko, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Boris Dimitrov is in the works

Gomel have made the call to Botev Vratsa. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Abdullah Monkhallah is in the works

Gomel have made the call to Stade Malien. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Squad

Allen Rozum stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Allen Rozum and Gomel agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

The dugout

Kirill Leonovich knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Gomel, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

Back issues
27 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Denis Kovalevich asks to leave Gomel

“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.

Transfer targets

Preslav Bachev due for a Gomel medical

Everything agreed with Arda, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

Vladislav Lazarev 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 dugout

Kirill Burov 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.

Transfer targets

Gomel ask about Marko Čavara

A loan enquiry to ND Gorica: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

Market

Alexandr Savitskiy is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Gomel has been clear about where Alexandr Savitskiy stands, which is more than many ever get.

Squad

“I want to play”: Kirill Burov speaks

“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.

The dugout

Anton Semenov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Gomel 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.

Boardroom

Open for business: Gomel enter the window

The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.

In brief

26 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Kirill Burov says Gomel went back on their word

“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.

Squad

Denis Nikonorov gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Denis Nikonorov has just signed for Gomel, and for once the answer mattered.

Squad

Pavel Pashevich 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Gomel

Dmitriy Emeljanov 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.

Market

Dmitriy Emeljanov is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Gomel has been clear about where Dmitriy Emeljanov stands, which is more than many ever get.

Squad

No place for Denis Nikonorov in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Gomel are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

Market

The Timofey Simanenka story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Timofey Simanenka signs something — a contract at Gomel or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

The dugout

Gleb Protasenya 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 Gleb Protasenya is on it.

The dugout

The manager makes Denis Kovalevich a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Gomel. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

25 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Denis Laptev 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 Gomel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Gomel training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Lazarev 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Denis Kovalevich

“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.

In brief

24 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Vladislav Lazarev signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Vladislav Lazarev and Gomel agree another 3 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Gomel

Denis Laptev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Gomel training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Lazarev 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Vladislav Lazarev

“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.

Squad

Gomel count the cost of losing Pavel Sergutko

45 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

The dugout

Dmitriy Emeljanov 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 Dmitriy Emeljanov is on it.

In brief

23 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Words exchanged at Gomel

Denis Laptev 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.

Squad

Vladislav Lazarev 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.

Squad

Arseniy Achapovskiy slips down the pecking order

The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Arseniy Achapovskiy is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.

Squad

Vladislav Lazarev moves up the pecking order

Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Gomel than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.

The dugout

Anton Semenov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Gomel 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 dugout

The manager makes Denis Kovalevich a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Gomel. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

The dugout

Egor Troyakov knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Gomel, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Alexandr Rakhmatov leaves for nothing

Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Alexandr Rakhmatov leaves Gomel the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.

Market

Artem Polushko leaves for nothing

Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Artem Polushko leaves Gomel the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.

In brief

22 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Artem Polushko has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Gomel they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Artem Karatay is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Tempers go at Gomel

Denis Laptev 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.

Squad

Vladislav Lazarev 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 dugout

Kirill Leonovich knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Gomel, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

No hiding place for Daniil Grishkov

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniil Grishkov, and the manager let it.

Market

The Timofey Simanenka story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Timofey Simanenka signs something — a contract at Gomel or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

The dugout

When it matters, Gleb Protasenya 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 dugout

Denis Kovalevich 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 Denis Kovalevich has written the date down.

In brief

21 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Vitaliy Stasevich stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Vitaliy Stasevich and Gomel agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Denis Laptev 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 Gomel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Vitaliy Stasevich 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Gomel

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Kirill Leonovich knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Gomel, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

Denis Kovalevich has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Gomel 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.

In brief

20 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Timofey Simanenka stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Timofey Simanenka and Gomel agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Vladislav Lazarev 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 dugout

No hiding place for Pavel Pashevich

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pavel Pashevich, and the manager let it.

Squad

Evgeniy Tishkov 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 Gomel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Dmitriy Emeljanov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Gomel 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 dugout

Denis Kovalevich 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 Denis Kovalevich has written the date down.

In brief

19 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Danila Kalatsey has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Gomel they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Words exchanged at Gomel

Viktor Sotnikov 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Gomel

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Kirill Burov

“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.

Squad

Artem Polushko is no longer first choice

The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Artem Polushko 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.

The dugout

Anton Semenov 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 Anton Semenov is on it.

In brief

18 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Oleg Kovalev: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Gomel have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Only the photograph left for Artem Polushko

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Artem Polushko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Gomel the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Gomel

Denis Laptev 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.

Squad

Vladislav Lazarev 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 dugout

Daniil Grishkov 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.

The dugout

Kirill Burov knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Gomel, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

The Timofey Simanenka story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Timofey Simanenka signs something — a contract at Gomel or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

The dugout

Gleb Protasenya has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Gomel 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.

Squad

Nikita Mayorov: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Gomel will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

In brief

17 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ivan Pavlov is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Gomel is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Denis Laptev 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 Gomel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Gomel

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Denis Kovalevich 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.

The dugout

Denis Kovalevich has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Gomel 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 dugout

A door opens for Artem Karatay

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

In brief

16 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A falling-out at Gomel

Denis Laptev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Gomel training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Lazarev 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Vladislav Lazarev

“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 dugout

When it matters, Dmitriy Emeljanov 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.

Squad

Evgeniy Tishkov has had enough of the bench

“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Gomel will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.

The dugout

Artem Polushko knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Gomel, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

15 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Viktor Sotnikov stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Viktor Sotnikov and Gomel agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market

Only the photograph left for Danila Kalatsey

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Danila Kalatsey will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Gomel the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Words exchanged at Gomel

Denis Laptev 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 dugout

No hiding place for Kirill Leonovich

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kirill Leonovich, and the manager let it.

Squad

A row about effort at Gomel

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Vladislav Lazarev 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 Vladislav Lazarev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

14 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Kirill Leonovich says Gomel went back on their word

“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.

Market

Artem Polushko is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Gomel is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words at Gomel training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Lazarev 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Gomel

Evgeniy Tishkov 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 dugout

Alexey Gavrilovich 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.

Squad

Viktor Sotnikov moves up the pecking order

Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Gomel than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.

Market

The Timofey Simanenka story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Timofey Simanenka signs something — a contract at Gomel or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

The dugout

Gleb Protasenya has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Gomel 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.

Squad

Nikita Mayorov: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Gomel will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

In brief

13 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ivan Pavlov has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Gomel they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Denis Laptev 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 Gomel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Pavel Pashevich signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Pavel Pashevich commits to Gomel for another 3 years.

Squad

Vladislav Lazarev 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Kirill Burov

“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 dugout

Denis Kovalevich 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 Denis Kovalevich is on it.

In brief

12 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A row about effort at Gomel

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

A falling-out at Gomel

Dmitriy Emeljanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

Denis Kovalevich 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.

In brief

11 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Timofey Simanenka signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Timofey Simanenka and Gomel agree another 5 years.

Market

Only the photograph left for Danila Kalatsey

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Danila Kalatsey will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Gomel the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Artem Karatay is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Words exchanged at Gomel

Denis Laptev 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.

Market

Gomel promote Maksim Signevich from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Maksim Signevich 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.

Market

Uladzislau Hleb steps up from the Gomel academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Uladzislau Hleb 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.

Squad

Vladislav Lazarev 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 dugout

No hiding place for Oleg Kovalev

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Oleg Kovalev, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Kirill Burov 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.

In brief

10 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Artem Polushko is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Gomel is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Gomel

Denis Laptev 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.

Squad

Words at Gomel training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Lazarev 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 dugout

Nikita Mayorov 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.

Squad

The armband comes off Vladislav Lazarev

Gomel will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.

The dugout

When it matters, Gleb Protasenya 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.

In brief

9 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Gomel's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Gomel has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Only the photograph left for Ivan Pavlov

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ivan Pavlov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Gomel the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Boardroom

Ivan Pavlov signs for Volna Pinsk while still at Gomel

The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Ivan Pavlov has agreed terms with Volna Pinsk for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.

Squad

Denis Laptev 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 Gomel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Dinamo Brest take the points off Gomel

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Player ratings

Both jobs done by Denis Laptev — 6.60

A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 11 actions, 6.60, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.

Squad

Words at Gomel training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Lazarev 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Vladislav Lazarev

“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 dugout

Uladzimir Dragun: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

In brief

8 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Vadim Martinkevich was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 33. 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.

Match

6 matches without a win for Gomel

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Gomel are no longer polite ones.

Squad

A falling-out at Gomel

Denis Laptev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Gomel come up short against Naftan

Naftan left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

A row about effort at Gomel

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pavel Pashevich was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Denis Kovalevich 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.

The dugout

Uladzimir Dragun: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

Squad

Kirill Burov has had enough of the bench

“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Gomel will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.

The dugout

Dmitriy Emeljanov 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 Dmitriy Emeljanov is on it.

In brief

7 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Gomel's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Gomel has to find a result from somewhere.

Boardroom

Gomel close the window on a squad of their own making

16 in and 3 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Transfer targets

Matvii Ponomarenko turns down Gomel

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Dynamo Kyiv keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Boardroom

Alexandr Rakhmatov has agreed to leave Gomel for nothing

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.

Transfer targets

Nikita Vekhtev stays at Vitebsk as time runs out

A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Gomel will try again when the window opens; Vitebsk may not be selling by then.

Market

Gomel promote Eduard Balanovich from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Eduard Balanovich 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.

Market

Gomel promote Vitaliy Gordeichuk from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Vitaliy Gordeichuk 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.

Squad

Vladislav Lazarev 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.

Match

Gomel rescue it on 91 minutes

Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 91. Isloch had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.

In brief

6 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Slutsk punish Gomel for switching off

2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Alexandr Savitskiy will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Gomel escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.

Market

Artem Polushko has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Gomel they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

4 matches without a win for Gomel

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Gomel are no longer polite ones.

Boardroom

Gomel to lose Artem Polushko for free

There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Artem Polushko 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.

Transfer targets

Gomel make their move for Nikita Vekhtev

$400.0K on the table at Vitebsk. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Evgeniy Barsukov

Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

A row about effort at Gomel

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timofey Simanenka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Rudes tell Gomel: Duje Korač is not for sale

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.

Match

Gomel are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

In brief

5 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Egor Troyakov puts it in writing

“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 Gomel, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Slavia Mozyr come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Gomel did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Transfer targets

Fon Boris Kache turns down Gomel

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: PWD Bamenda keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Boardroom

Danila Kalatsey has agreed to leave Gomel for nothing

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.

Market

Danila Kalatsey has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Gomel they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Denis Laptev 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 Gomel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Momodou Jobarteh

Gomel asked and Paide said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

Timofey Simanenka 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.

Transfer targets

Gomel ask about Anton Shamonin

A loan enquiry to Rostov: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

In brief

4 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Gomel out of the cup

Dnepr Mogilev ended it 2‑3. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Player ratings

A brace, and Dmitriy Emeljanov takes the afternoon — 8.46

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Dmitriy Emeljanov provided it, and the 8.46 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Player ratings

Gleb Protasenya, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.62

A mark of 7.62 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Market

Anton Semenov hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Gomel can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

Daniil Silinskiy goes up and wins it — 7.87

A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.87 for the rest of it.

Squad

A falling-out at Gomel

Denis Laptev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Evgeniy Barsukov

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Mateo Bačić

Gomel asked and Cibalia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Match

A bad afternoon for Gomel against BATE

1‑2 to BATE, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

In brief

  • Squad Words at Gomel training over how hard people work
  • The dugout The manager makes an example of Kirill Burov
  • Boardroom Doors closed at Gomel
3 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Gomel march on in the cup

Niva are out and Gomel go through, 3‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Player ratings

Anton Semenov scores twice — 9.14

Two goals and a mark of 9.14 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Player ratings

Vintage Denis Laptev — 8.09

At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.09, and nobody on the pitch better.

Player ratings

Vadim Martinkevich beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Words exchanged at Gomel

Denis Laptev 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 targets

Gomel rebuffed over Marko Čavara

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. ND Gorica have kept their man, and Gomel go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Match

Gomel come up short against Slavia Mozyr

Slavia Mozyr left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The terraces

One of their own: Dmitriy Emeljanov

He is 22 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.

The dugout

Stanislav Kleschuk 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.

In brief

2 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Player ratings

Timofey Simanenka, 19, steals the show — 7.95

Marked 7.95 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Transfer targets

Alexandr Ryzhchenko due for a Gomel medical

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.

Transfer targets

Anton Shamonin will not be coming to Gomel

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Rostov is saying, and nobody at Gomel is enjoying the guessing.

Player ratings

Vadim Martinkevich beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Denis Laptev 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 Gomel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

Dmitriy Nizhnik will join Gomel for nothing

The paperwork is done long before the player is. Dmitriy Nizhnik has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Gomel have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.

Transfer targets

Rudes tell Gomel: Duje Korač is not for sale

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.

Market

One of our own: Yahor Malevich joins the Gomel first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Yahor Malevich is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

One of our own: Vitaliy Rios joins the Gomel first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Vitaliy Rios is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

In brief

1 Edition

The Gomel Chronicle

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Player ratings

Anton Semenov, 21, steals the show — 8.14

Marked 8.14 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Squad

A career in one shirt: Oleg Kovalev

12 seasons and 245 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.

Market

Gomel say no — this time

The offer from Khimik for Damir Shaikhtdinov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Player ratings

Vadim Martinkevich runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Daniil Silinskiy signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Daniil Silinskiy commits to Gomel for another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Gomel

Denis Laptev 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 targets

Slavia Sofia tell Gomel: Yoan Bornosuzov is not for sale

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.

Match

Timofey Simanenka sends Gomel past Molodechno

It finished 2‑1, and it was Timofey Simanenka’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Gomel.

The terraces

Gomel supporters have found a favourite in Vadim Martinkevich

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Vadim Martinkevich has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

In brief