European club reportedly not paying players, team director leaves country
A European club is reportedly not paying their players and the team's director has left the country.
The Belarusian Extraleague is set to get underway later this month and a new club is set to make their debut in the league, Aviator Baranovichy. The team is located in the western part of Belarus in a city with a population of under 200,000. This will be a big moment for the city, having them play in the top division of Belarusian hockey, but unfortunately there's already a bit of controversy surrounding the team.
In a post by Hockey Worldwide on Instagram, it was revealed that Aviator Baranovichy is dealing with financial issues already and haven't been paying their players what they agreed to in their respective contracts. Players have only been receiving 150-300 Belarusian rubles, which works out to $63-$126 Canadian.
To make matters worse, the team's director has left Belarus and is vacationing in Türkiye and hasn't been answering phone calls.
Reportedly, Aviator Baranovichy are short-staffed with no masseuse or team doctor and are also dealing with shortages relating to equipment, such as sticks, as well as team uniforms.
We'll have to wait and see how this situation develops over the coming days, but if it's not resolved by the time the Belarusian Extraleague season begins later this month, it wouldn't be a shock to see Aviator Baranovichy pull out for the 2024-25 campaign.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Aviator Baranovichy will be able to play this season? | ||
| Yes | 4 | 12.9 % |
| No, they'll have to pull out of the league | 27 | 87.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
