Dinamo Minsk not worried about Hearts fan lockout as veteran star makes Tynecastle admission

Alyaksandr Sachywka insists Dinamo Minsk won’t suffer in silence against Hearts - because they’re used to playing Euro ties behind closed doors.

Wednesday's Conference League opener goes ahead in the Sumgayit Stadium in Azerbaijan without fans due to UEFA’s sanctions against Belarus for their part in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But veteran defender Sachywka says that won’t hurt Dinamo as they look to add to the managerless Jambos woes having played all their ‘home’ qualifiers in empty stadiums since 2022.

And he reckons his side are lucky they won’t face a return trip to Tynecastle in the new-look format because of the ferocious backing Hearts get at home. The 38-year-old played for his club’s rivals FK Minsk when they dumped St Johnstone out of the Europa League on penalties in 2013.

And he said: “It’s good to play at home, there is always a nice atmosphere and it’s good to have the fans close to you. But we are used to playing without fans, this is the third season we have done this now. It’s not a situation we would choose, but we need to do it, so it’s ok with us.

“We are all still trying to learn about this new Conference League format. But maybe it’s lucky for us that we are playing Hearts here because we know the support they have in Edinburgh is very strong. They have a very vocal support. So maybe in this case it is good for us that we do not have to play them in their own stadium, because that would have been difficult for us.

"There is a lot of information and we are ready for this game. We respect Hearts' style, we expect it to be very aggressive. We have different information about them and it will be a very hard game for us.”

The Belarussian champions are three points off the top of their table with three