From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Jan 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Vitebsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Jan 2027
83 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad11 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Jan 2027
Mikhail Bashilov 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.
Market4 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Vitebsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market4 Jan 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vitebsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Mikhail Bashilov keeps the shirt for now, at Vitebsk's convenience rather than his own.
Market4 Jan 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Nikita Naumov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Dec 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 The request is on a desk at Vitebsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Dec 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.
Squad28 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tord Salte 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 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
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Vitebsk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market14 Dec 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
The medical room confirms 113 days on the sidelines for Astemir Abazov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Dec 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 Vitebsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Vitebsk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Georgi Tartov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vitebsk can pretend not to have heard.
Market30 Nov 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Vitebsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Vitebsk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad30 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
187% of the income goes out in wages at Vitebsk
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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Salman Al-Matar and Vitebsk agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
Mikhail Bashilov 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Vladlen Anikeev 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.
Squad23 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
112 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad16 Nov 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 Vitebsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
Mikhail Bashilov 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ruslan Teverov, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Yevhen Protasov 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Vitebsk, another week without a signature from Roman Lisovskiy.
Market9 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vitebsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market9 Nov 2026
The clock does Roman Lisovskiy’s negotiating for him
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Vitebsk could ask drops and the wages Roman Lisovskiy can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
Ruslan Teverov: 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.” Vitebsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market2 Nov 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.
Market2 Nov 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Roman Lisovskiy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vitebsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad2 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
187% of the income goes out in wages at Vitebsk
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.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I watch every Vitebsk game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Niva runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vitebsk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Vitebsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Tord Salte 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 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.
Squad19 Oct 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
140 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nikita Vekhtev and Vitebsk agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Mikhail Bashilov 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.
Squad12 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 Vitebsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad12 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vitebsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market12 Oct 2026
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Vitebsk could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vitebsk can pretend not to have heard.
Market5 Oct 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Roman Lisovskiy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vitebsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad5 Oct 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
292% of the income goes out in wages at Vitebsk
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitriy Denisenko D., and the manager let it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Marcell Árki and Vitebsk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Sep 2026
Mikhail Bashilov 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vladlen Anikeev, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match26 Sep 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Arsenal Dzerzhinsk came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Yevhen Protasov 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
Crisis
Market21 Sep 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 Vitebsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces21 Sep 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 5 of the 24 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Joe Brito runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Sep 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikita Goilo, and the manager let it.
Match19 Sep 2026
Neman left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Shots: 7, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Yevhen Protasov 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
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Joe Brito runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tord Salte 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Sep 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market14 Sep 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A season on the outside for Georgi Tartov
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Vitebsk has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Market14 Sep 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vitebsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Nikita Goilo has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Nikita Goilo keeps the shirt for now, at Vitebsk's convenience rather than his own.
Market14 Sep 2026
No fee and no drama: Shota Apridonidze has signed at Vitebsk, and the wage bill is the only line that moved.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market7 Sep 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Roman Lisovskiy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vitebsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tord Salte 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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
A defender's afternoon for Nikita Naumov
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
278% of the income goes out in wages at Vitebsk
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Astemir Abazov
“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.
Match5 Sep 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vladlen Anikeev. 1‑0 against Torpedo-BelAZ, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match26 Aug 2026
The small margins put Vitebsk out
Out, 0‑0 to Torpedo-BelAZ, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Nikita Goilo is the hero from the spot
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Nikita Goilo: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
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
Defensive actions: 24, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Astemir Abazov 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Dinamo Brest left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad31 Aug 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.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
It was his to settle and he did not settle it. A long walk back to the halfway line, and a considerably longer week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Aug 2026
Vitebsk through in the cup
A 1‑0 win over Slavia Mozyr, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Market24 Aug 2026
Vitebsk say no — this time
The offer from Dnepr Mogilev for Zakhar Chervyakov 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.
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 Vitebsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market24 Aug 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Vitebsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad24 Aug 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market24 Aug 2026
BATE pay $69.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.77 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Aug 2026
Nikita Goilo is the hero from the spot
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Nikita Goilo: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match12 Aug 2026
Vitebsk through in the cup
A 1‑1 win over Slonim, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Market17 Aug 2026
Molodechno come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Vitebsk did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Mikhail Bashilov 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.
Match15 Aug 2026
A bad afternoon for Vitebsk against Isloch
0‑1 to Isloch, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitriy Denisenko D., and the manager let it.
Market17 Aug 2026
Dmitriy Denisenko D. is 20, and Vitebsk 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Vitebsk, another week without a signature from Dmitriy Denisenko D..
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 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 Vitebsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market10 Aug 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Vitebsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Mikhail Bashilov 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikita Goilo, and the manager let it.
Market10 Aug 2026
Add another name to the list: BATE have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Nikita Vekhtev. The answer from Vitebsk has not changed — yet.
Match8 Aug 2026
A bad afternoon for Vitebsk against Slutsk
0‑1 to Slutsk, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nikita Vekhtev and Vitebsk agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market10 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vitebsk can pretend not to have heard.
Market3 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mikhail Bashilov and Vitebsk agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market3 Aug 2026
The name of Nikita Vekhtev has come up in conversations Vitebsk were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Market3 Aug 2026
24 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.