A car containing the match officials involved in Bate Borisov’s 2-2 draw with Shakhtar Soligorsk on 14 June was stopped by another vehicle, who forced the officials out of the car and threatened them. The Belarusian football association (ABFF) said that video footage, including the licence plate of the vehicle, has been passed to police.

‘On the road from Borisov, the car of the refereeing team and the match inspector was stopped by the vehicle after repeated deliberate emergency situations’, read a statement. ‘Having overtaken, the indicated vehicle stopped abruptly and blocked the movement of the refereeing car and the match inspector. Then unknown persons demanded the refereeing team and the match inspector get out of their car and began to insult and threaten them, expressing dissatisfaction with the refereeing of the match […] In order to protect the officials, the ABFF will take all necessary actions within the framework of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus. All available materials on the above incident, including the data from the video recorder that recorded the incident, and the registration number of the vehicle of the attackers, will be transferred to the competent authorities.’

At present, there is nothing to suggest that match-fixing was involved. A victory in Sunday’s match would have allowed Shakhtar Soligorsk to replace Bate Borisov at the top of the Belarusian Premier League. A draw maintains the status quo – with Bate Borisov leading Shakhtar Soligorsk by 27 points to 25. As such, the people in the car that accosted the match officials may have been irate supporters, as it is understood that there was controversy over Shakhtar Soligorsk’s second goal, scored in the 81st minute. The game also featured seven yellow cards.