The Belarusian politician admitted that the situation of this sport in the country is terrible. While the state allocates money for the development of football, it is not satisfied with the extremely poor results.
Alexander Lukashenko scolded the Minister of Sports and Tourism of Belarus, Sergei Kovalchuk, for the absence of the country’s national team at the World Cup in Qatar. At the same time, the president of Belarus described himself as a former football player engaged in this sport. The video of Lukashenka meeting with the official was released by BelTA agency on December 15th.
In addition to Kovalchuk, Alexander Lukashenko met with Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Igor Lutsky, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Petrishenko and Chairman of the National Olympic Committee Viktor Lukashenko. During the interview, he was angered by the state of football in Belarus, calling it frightening and voicing his allegations against Kovalchuk.
“The World Cup is starting. I, Sergey Mikhailovich, did not notice our players there. Or am I bad at watching the World Cup? It’s not even close. As a former football player who has played a lot of football, I’m just scared. The situation of this sport, like any other, is in a terrible state, “Lukashenko was angry.
The Belarusian president admitted that he hopes for better results by appointing Kovalchuk to the post of minister. However, several years passed and the situation did not improve, despite the state’s allocation of funds for it.
What medals did Dinamo Minsk win? Fourth place? That’s why I’m going to draw you free wooden medals. And you are responsible for this team. I gave you instructions and I gave you money. And you’re talking to me about sanctions. So, as far as I understand in sports, if you’re under pressure, the comeback will be even stronger,” added Lukashenka.
The politician believes that no sanctions can prevent the improvement of sports results. Conversely, athletes show even better results if they see that they have been “unjustly punished.”
“We have it? We don’t have it. Where we pay more attention to this sport, you get the worst results,” said Lukashenka.
It should be noted that in the qualifying phase of the 2022 World Cup, Belarus is in the last place in the qualifying group.
Earlier, during the match between Smorgon and Volna in Belarus, it was reported that football player Vladislav Shubovich wanted to propose to his girlfriend on the football field. However, the official tried to prevent this by forcing the touch line.
At the World Cup held in Qatar on December 14, the second finalist was determined – the French team. The team defeated the Moroccan national team 2-0 in the semi-final match.
Source: Focus
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