The 1998 Belarusian Premier League was the eighth season of top-tier football in Belarus. It started on April 12 and ended on October 31, 1998. Dinamo Minsk were the defending champions.
| Season | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dnepr-Transmash Mogilev |
| Relegated | Kommunalnik Slonim Dinamo-93 Minsk |
| Champions League | Dnepr-Transmash Mogilev |
| UEFA Cup | Belshina Bobruisk BATE Borisov |
| Intertoto Cup | Lokomotiv-96 Vitebsk Gomel |
| Matches played | 225 |
| Goals scored | 587 (2.61 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Sergey Yaromko (19) |
| Biggest home win | BATE 6–0 Dinamo Brest; Belshina 6–0 Naftan-Devon; Torpedo Minsk 6–0 Kommunalnik |
| Biggest away win | Kommunalnik 0–5 Dnepr-Transmash; Dinamo Minsk 0–5 Dinamo Brest |
| Highest scoring | Dinamo Brest 6–3 Molodechno |
← 1997 1999 → | |
Team changes from 1997 season
editTwo worst teams of the last season (Torpedo-Kadino Mogilev and Shakhtyor Soligorsk) relegated to the First League. They were replaced by two best clubs of 1996 First League (FC Gomel and BATE Borisov).
In the early days of January it was announced that Transmash Mogilev ceased to exist as an independent club merged with Dnepr Mogilev (with the latter being renamed to Dnepr-Transmash Mogilev). Ataka Minsk, who suffered heavy financial troubles, let go all their senior team players and failed to confirm their participation in the new season by a deadline in early March. A week later BFF announced that Ataka Minsk were excluded from the league and that two vacant places (left by Transmash and Ataka) are being filled by Torpedo-Kadino Mogilev and Shakhtyor Soligorsk, both of whom were spared from relegation.
Before the start of the season, MPKC Mozyr changed their name to Slavia Mozyr.
Overview
editDnepr-Transmash Mogilev won their 1st champions title and qualified for the next season's Champions League. The championship runners-up BATE Borisov as well as bronze medalists and 1998–99 Cup winners Belshina Bobruisk qualified for UEFA Cup. Kommunalnik Slonim finished on last, 15th place and relegated to First League. Dinamo-93 Minsk dissolved and withdrew from the championship after 15 rounds. They were excluded from the final table and their results were annulled.
Teams and venues
edit
| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity | Position in 1997 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo Minsk | Minsk | Dinamo Stadium (Minsk)[1] | 40,000 | 1 |
| Belshina | Bobruisk | Spartak Stadium (Bobruisk) | 2,500 | 2 |
| Lokomotiv-96 | Vitebsk | Dinamo Stadium (Vitebsk)[2] | 5,500 | 3 |
| Dnepr-Transmash | Mogilev | Spartak Stadium (Mogilev)[3] | 11,200 | 4 |
| Dinamo-93 | Minsk | Orbita Stadium[4] | 2,000 | 5 |
| Slavia | Mozyr | Yunost Stadium (Mozyr) | 6,500 | 6 |
| Dinamo Brest | Brest | Dinamo Stadium (Brest) | 3,000 | 7 |
| Torpedo | Minsk | Torpedo Stadium (Minsk)[5] | 5,000 | 8 |
| Naftan-Devon | Novopolotsk | Atlant Stadium | 6,500 | 9 |
| Neman | Grodno | Neman Stadium | 15,000 | 10 |
| Kommunalnik | Slonim | Yunost Stadium (Slonim) | 2,000 | 11 |
| Molodechno | Molodechno | City Stadium (Molodechno) | 5,500 | 13 |
| Torpedo-Kadino | Mogilev | Torpedo Stadium (Mogilev)[6] | 7,000 | 15 |
| Shakhtyor | Soligorsk | Stroitel Stadium | 5,000 | 16 |
| Gomel | Gomel | Central Stadium | 10,000 | First league, 1 |
| BATE | Borisov | City Stadium (Borisov)[7] | 3,500 | First league, 2 |
- ^ Three games played at Orbita Stadium.
- ^ Last ten games played at City Stadium in Orsha, after club's own Dinamo Stadium was closed for renovation.
- ^ One game played at Khimvolokno Stadium.
- ^ Before club's withdrawal from the league, they played four games at Orbita Stadium, three games at Kamvolschik Stadium and one at GFC Smena.
- ^ First seven games played at Kamvolschik Stadium.
- ^ One game played at Khimvolokno Stadium.
- ^ One game played at Orbita Stadium in Minsk.
Table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dnepr-Transmash Mogilev (C) | 28 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 55 | 14 | +41 | 67 | Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | BATE Borisov | 28 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 50 | 25 | +25 | 58 | Qualification for UEFA Cup qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Belshina Bobruisk | 28 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 47 | 17 | +30 | 57 | |
| 4 | Lokomotiv-96 Vitebsk | 28 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 35 | 24 | +11 | 48 | Qualification for Intertoto Cup first round |
| 5 | Gomel | 28 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 36 | 30 | +6 | 45 | |
| 6 | Slavia Mozyr | 28 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 45 | |
| 7 | Torpedo Minsk | 28 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 44 | 22 | +22 | 44 | |
| 8 | Dinamo Minsk | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 39 | |
| 9 | Dinamo Brest | 28 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 38 | |
| 10 | Neman Grodno | 28 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 27 | 44 | −17 | 31 | |
| 11 | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 28 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 33 | 54 | −21 | 30 | |
| 12 | Torpedo-Kadino Mogilev | 28 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 29 | |
| 13 | Naftan-Devon Novopolotsk | 28 | 7 | 4 | 17 | 33 | 47 | −14 | 25 | |
| 14 | Molodechno | 28 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 21 | 51 | −30 | 16 | |
| 15 | Kommunalnik Slonim (R) | 28 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 14 | 63 | −49 | 14 | Relegation to Belarusian First League |
| D | Dinamo-93 Minsk[b] (D) | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 23 | −4 | 18 | Dissolved |
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd matches won; 3rd head-to-head
(C) Champions; (D) Dissolved; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Belshina Bobruisk qualified for the UEFA Cup qualifying round by winning the 1998–99 Belarusian Cup.
- ^ Dinamo-93 Minsk withdrew after 15 rounds. All their games were annulled and the team was excluded from the final table.
Results
editBelarusian clubs in European Cups
edit| Round | Team #1 | Agg. | Team #1 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup | |||||
| First round | Dnepr-Transmash Mogilev 
|
2–10 |  Debrecen
|
2–4 | 0–6 |
| 1998–99 UEFA Cup | |||||
| First qualifying round | Belshina Bobruisk
|
1–3 |  CSKA Sofia
|
0–0 | 1–3 |
| 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | |||||
| Qualifying round | Levski Sofia
|
9–2 | Lokomotiv-96 Vitebsk
|
8–1 | 1–1 |
| 1998–99 UEFA Champions League | |||||
| First qualifying round | Skonto Riga 
|
2–1 | Dinamo Minsk
|
0–0 | 2–1 |