Vladislav Kalinin got away with one after a horrible late challenge on Ferguson only resulted in a booking
09:50, 09 Sep 2025Updated 09:53, 09 Sep 2025
Scotland’s Lewis Ferguson is fouled by Belarus’ Vladislav Kalinin(Image: SNS Group)
The Belarus defender who put a horror challenge on Lewis Ferguson claims it was ‘revenge’ for what Ben Gannon Doak did to his teammate just minutes earlier.
Scotland defeated Belarus in Hungary to make it four points out of six in their opening two World Cup qualifiers.
Bologna midfielder Ferguson was fortunate to avoid a more serious injury when Dinamo Minsk player Vladislav Kalinin made an awful lunge on the former Aberdeen star in the second half.
The BBC commentary team at the time were aghast that it wasn’t spotted at the time, even more so when it wasn’t pulled up by VAR for a pitchside review.
It was described by co-commentator Steven Thompson as a “very bad challenge,” but was only booked. And he says had no regrets about the tackle – because Doak had fouled his teammate Max Ebong earlier in the second half.
He said: “Before that challenge, our player, Max Ebong, was taken out with a tackle from behind.
“I thought that was unacceptable so I decided to take a little revenge for my teammate.
“That’s probably how we should have played, with more aggression.
“I didn’t want to cause injury in any way, but you have to be tougher in a match like that.
Belarus’ Vladislav Kalinin (centre) is shown a yellow card(Image: SNS Group)
“For me, it was a great honour to make my debut for the national team. There was a lot more responsibility for me than when I played for Dynamo Minsk.
“In the second half, Scotland played more through the middle and it was tough for us.”
Scotland fans were seen trying their luck to get into the clash in Zalaegerzeg and Tartan Army chiefs have urged UEFA to lift their fans’ ban.
The Scots eased victory against the former Soviet nation in front of an empty stadium in Hungary, because the hosts were hit with UEFA sanctions due to their support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Despite this, a few dozen diehard Scotland fans made the trip anyway and were able to watch the game from an access point in the corner of the stadium, albeit with a restricted view.
And they have lashed out at European football’s governing body for punishing fans for not allowing them into the qualifier.
Martin Riddell, Chair of the Association of Tartan Army Clubs, said: “It isn’t football when innocent fans are punished.
“Scotland have enjoyed sensational support from the Tartan Army for many many years through thick and thin.
“UEFA have now prevented us from seeing our heroes on the back of the sanctions placed upon Belarus.
“All we have ever asked for is the five per cent away allocation that the away fans are entitled to under the competition rules.
“The SFA chief executive raised this at the UEFA ExCo meeting in Belgrade in February. He received the response that nothing had changed since the sanctions were introduced, so there is nothing to review.
“Similarly, Football Supporters Europe, to whom we are affiliated, brought this up with UEFA. That resulted in a similarly unacceptable retort.
“If there are no fans, there is no game.
“This urgently needs reviewing ahead of next year’s qualification matches. Teams that cannot host any fans should not be in the competition.”