# 2021 Belarusian Premier League

The 2021 Belarusian Premier League was the 31st season of top-tier football in Belarus. Shakhtyor Soligorsk were the defending champions, having won their second league title last year. Shakhtyor Soligorsk won their third Belarusian Premier League title.

## Teams

The bottom two teams from the 2020 season (Belshina Bobruisk and Smolevichi) were relegated to the First League (both relegated after one-year in the top flight). They were replaced by Sputnik Rechitsa (promoted to the top-flight for the first time in their history) and Gomel (promoted after a one-year absence), champions and runners-up of the 2020 Belarusian First League respectively.
In the winter 2020/21, Gorodeya (who finished 13th last year) dissolved and left a Premier League spot vacant. Smorgon (6th-placed team of last year's First League season, promoted after an eleven-year absence) were admitted to fill the vacancy, after Krumkachy Minsk (First League 3rd-placed team) were denied Premier League license, and another two clubs (Arsenal Dzerzhinsk and Lokomotiv Gomel) rejected the opportunity due to insufficient financing.
| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity | Position in 2020 |
| BATE | Borisov | Borisov Arena | 13,121 | 2nd |
| Gomel | Gomel | Central Stadium (Gomel) | 14,307 | 2nd (First League) |
| Dinamo Brest | Brest | OSK Brestsky | 10,060 | 4th |
| Dinamo Minsk | Minsk | Dinamo Stadium | 22,324 | 6th |
| Energetik-BGU | Minsk | City Stadium (Borisov) | 5,402 | 10th |
| Isloch | Minsk Raion | City Stadium (Molodechno) | 4,800 | 7th |
| Minsk | Minsk | Traktor Stadium | 17,600 | 11th |
| Neman | Grodno | Neman Stadium | 8,479 | 5th |
| Rukh | Brest | OSK Brestsky | 10,060 | 8th |
| Shakhtyor | Soligorsk | Stroitel Stadium | 4,200 | 1st |
| Slavia | Mozyr | Yunost Stadium (Mozyr) | 5,133 | 9th |
| Slutsk | Slutsk | City Stadium (Slutsk) | 1,896 | 14th |
| Smorgon | Smorgon | Yunost Stadium (Smorgon) | 2,625 | 6th (First League) |
| Sputnik | Rechitsa | Central Stadium (Rechitsa) | 3,550 | 1st (First League) |
| Torpedo-BelAZ | Zhodino | Torpedo Stadium | 6,524 | 3rd |
| Vitebsk | Vitebsk | Vitebsky CSK | 8,200 | 12th |
* ^ Three games played at City Stadium in Borisov and one game at FC Minsk Stadium in Minsk.
* ^ Two games played at SDYuShOR-8 Stadium in Gomel.
* ^ One game played at FC Minsk Stadium in Minsk.
* ^ Energetik-BGU spent the season at City Stadium in Borisov due to league's requirement to play on natural grass pitch in the summer. In addition, four games played at RCOP-BGU Stadium in Minsk.
* ^ Isloch spent the season at City Stadium in Molodechno due to league's requirement to play on natural grass pitch in the summer. In addition, four games played at FC Minsk Stadium in Minsk.
* ^ Three games played at FC Minsk Stadium.
* ^ One game played at Yunost Stadium in Brest.
* ^ Five games played at Shakhtyor Stadium in Soligorsk.
* ^ Three games played at Slutsk College stadium.
* ^ Before their withdrawal from the league, Sputnik played three games at Central Stadium in Rechitsa, three games at SDYuShOR-8 Stadium in Gomel, one game at Central Stadium in Gomel and one game at Spartak Stadium in Mogilev.

### Personnel

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor (Chest) |
| BATE Borisov | Vitaly Zhukovsky | Pavel Nyakhaychyk | Adidas | Minsk Tractor Works |
| Dynamo Brest | Syarhey Kavalchuk | Edhar Alyakhnovich | Saller | RUPP-Granit |
| Dinamo Minsk | Artsyom Chelyadzinski (caretaker) | Igor Shitov | Saller | None |
| Energetik-BGU | Vladimir Belyavskiy | Yevgeniy Yudchits | Adidas | Belenergo |
| Gomel | Ivan Bionchik | Ruslan Yudenkov | Joma | Belorusneft |
| Isloch Minsk Raion | Artsyom Radzkow | Dzmitry Kamarowski | Joma | Hyundai |
| Minsk | Fyodor Shcherbachenko | Syarhey Vyeramko | Macron | Minsk Tractor Works |
| Neman Grodno | Igor Kovalevich | Valery Zhukowski | Saller | None |
| Rukh Brest | Kirill Alshevsky | Artsyom Rakhmanaw | Joma | Belgosstrakh |
| Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Roman Hryhorchuk | Alyaksandr Hutar | Jako | Belaruskali |
| Slavia Mozyr | Mihail Martsinovich | Mikhail Baranovsky | Joma | Mozyr Oil Refinery |
| Slutsk | Aleksandr Brazevich | Ilya Branovets | Hummel | Slutsk Sugar Refinery |
| Smorgon | Vyacheslav Geraschenko | Artur Valikayev | Masita | Maxline |
| Sputnik Rechitsa | Viktor Kumykov | Ihar Yasinski | Macron | Stroidiapazon |
| Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino | Yuri Puntus | Andrey Khachaturyan | Adidas | BelAZ |
| Vitebsk | Yevgeniy Chernukhin | Artsyom Skitaw | Macron | None |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| FC Dinamo Minsk | Leonid Kuchuk | Resigned | 28 May 2021 | 4th | Artsyom Chelyadzinski (caretaker) | 3 June 2021 |
| FC Sputnik Rechitsa | Vyacheslav Levchuk | Mutual Consent | 4 June 2021 | 16th | Viktor Kumykov | 4 June 2021 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Shakhtyor Soligorsk (C) | 30 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 62 | 18 | +44 | 75 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | BATE Borisov | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 61 | 27 | +34 | 65 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Dinamo Minsk | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 55 | 20 | +35 | 62 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Gomel | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 57 | 23 | +34 | 59 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Rukh Brest (W) | 30 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 52 | 28 | +24 | 58 | Withdrawal from the league |
| 6 | Dynamo Brest | 30 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 38 | |
| 7 | Vitebsk | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 37 | 41 | −4 | 37 | |
| 8 | Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 38 | 43 | −5 | 36 | |
| 9 | Slutsk | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 35 | |
| 10 | Isloch Minsk Raion | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 34 | |
| 11 | Neman Grodno | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 34 | |
| 12 | Minsk | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 32 | 52 | −20 | 33 | |
| 13 | Energetik-BGU Minsk | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 35 | 42 | −7 | 33 | |
| 14 | Slavia Mozyr (O) | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 42 | 50 | −8 | 32 | Qualification to relegation play-offs |
| 15 | Smorgon (R) | 30 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 66 | −40 | 21 | Relegation to the Belarusian First League |
| 16 | Sputnik Rechitsa (D, R) | 30 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 12 | 82 | −70 | 7 | Withdrawal from the league |
* ↑ Gomel qualified for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round as the 2021–22 Belarusian Cup winners.

## Results

Each team plays home-and-away once against every other team for a total of 30 matches played each.
| Home \ Away | BAT | DBR | DMI | ENE | GOM | ISL | FCM | NEM | RUH | SHA | SLA | SLU | SMR | SPU | TZH | VIT |
| BATE Borisov | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 |
| Dynamo Brest | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 |
| Dinamo Minsk | 0–2 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 |
| Energetik-BGU Minsk | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Gomel | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | — | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| Isloch Minsk Raion | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Minsk | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–5 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–6 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–3 |
| Neman Grodno | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| Rukh Brest | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 7–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | — | 4–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Slavia Mozyr | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Slutsk | 3–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–4 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Smorgon | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| Sputnik Rechitsa | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–5 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | — | 0–3 | 4–3 |
| Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 7–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 |
| Vitebsk | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | — |

## Relegation play-offs

The 14th-place finisher of this season (Slavia Mozyr) played a two-legged relegation play-off against the third-placed team of the 2021 Belarusian First League (Krumkachy Minsk) for a spot in the 2022 Premier League.
Leg 1
Leg 2

## Statistics
### Top goalscorers

    As of 20 November 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Dembo Darboe | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 19 |
| 2 | Andrey Solovey | Gomel | 17 |
| 3 | Maksim Skavysh | BATE Borisov | 13 |
| 4 | Stanislav Bilenkyi | Dynamo Brest | 11 |
| 5 | Ablaye Mbengue | Dinamo Minsk | 10 |
| 6 | Steven Alfred | Slutsk | 9 |
| 6 | Dzyanis Laptsew | Rukh Brest | 9 |
| 6 | Ruslan Teverov | Vitebsk | 9 |
| 9 | Dmitry Gomza | Gomel | 8 |
| 9 | Dzmitry Kamarowski | Isloch | 8 |
| 9 | Francis Narh | Slavia Mozyr | 8 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Dzyanis Laptsew | Rukh Brest | Smorgon | 5–0 (H) | 18 April 2021 |
| Dembo Darboe | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Rukh Brest | 4‒1 (H) | 25 April 2021 |
| Ablaye Mbengue | Dinamo Minsk | Slavia Mozyr | 4–0 (H) | 4 July 2021 |
| Andrey Solovey | Gomel | Slutsk | 4–1 (A) | 18 September 2021 |

### Disciplinary

Most yellow cards: (8)
* Júlio César (Vitebsk)
* Giorgi Kantaria (Neman Grodno)
* Alimardon Shukurov (Neman Grodno)
* Vladislav Yatskevich (Smorgon)
* Igor Tymonyuk (Slavia Mozyr)
Most red cards: (2)
* Júlio César (Vitebsk)
* Sulley Muniru (Minsk)
* Alyaksey Hawrylovich (Neman Grodno)

## Awards
### Weekly awards
#### Player of the Week

Player of The Week :
| Week | Player | Club |
| 1 | Syarhey Kislyak | Dinamo Minsk |
| 2 | Dzmitry Kamarowski | Isloch |
| 3 | Shokhboz Umarov | BATE Borisov |
| 4 | Andrey Solovey | Gomel |
| 5 | Dzyanis Laptsew | Rukh Brest |
| 6 | Dembo Darboe | Shakhtyor Soligorsk |
| 7 | Alyaksandr Sachywka | Shakhtyor Soligorsk |
| 8 | Júlio César | Vitebsk |
| 9 | Denis Gruzhevskiy | Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino |
| 10 | Ruslan Yudenkov | Gomel |
| 11 | Andrey Solovey | Gomel |

#### Goal of the Week

Goal of The Week :
| Week | Player | Club |
| 1 | Shokhboz Umarov | BATE Borisov |
| 2 | Alyaksandr Sachywka | Shakhtyor Soligorsk |
| 3 | Artsyom Vaskow | Gomel |
| 4 | Nikola Antić | Shakhtyor Soligorsk |
| 5 | Aleksandr Shestyuk | Dynamo Brest |
| 6 | Mikita Nyakrasaw | Gomel |
| 7 | Stanislav Bilenkyi | Dynamo Brest |
| 8 | Vadim Pobudey | Gomel |
| 9 | Pavel Sedko | Dynamo Brest |
| 10 | Ruslan Yudenkov | Gomel |
| 11 | Shokhboz Umarov | BATE Borisov |

### Monthly awards
#### Player of the Month

Player of The Month :
| Month | Player | Club | Reference |
| April | Dembo Darboe | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | |

#### Goal of the Month

Goal of The Month :
| Month | Player | Club | Reference |
| April | Aleksandr Shestyuk | Dynamo Brest | |

#### Manager of the Month

Manager of The Month :
| Month | Player | Club | Reference |
| April | Roman Hryhorchuk | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | |