Dinamo Minsk manager Vadim Skripchenko explained the decision behind playing their Conference League clash with Heart of Midlothian in Azerbaijan.

The Belarussian champions have had to play all of their home European games behind closed doors since 2022 due to UEFA sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Minsk played their qualifying games in Hungary but switched to the Mehdi Huseynzade Stadium in Sumqayit in Azerbaijan because they required a category four stadium for the Conference League league phase.

Minsk played Zeljeznicar in Azerbaijan last season in qualification albeit that game took place in Baku.

"We played here last season when we played in qualification for the Conference League," he said. "The second reason, we need a direct flight from Minsk so we can come straight to Baku. Azerbaijan is friendly to Belarus and it is easier to get to than it is other countries.

“[Playing behind closed doors] is a challenge for us, without question, but we are used to it, so it is not a problem for us.”

The experienced and versatile Alyaksandr Sachywka, a former Belarussian international added: “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.”

Sachywka admitted that Minsk could count themselves "lucky" to play Hearts at home in the new Conference League format instead of away due to the atmosphere at Tynecastle Park.

“We are all still trying to learn about this new Conference League format," he said. “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."

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Both Skripchenko and Sachywka have experience of defeating a Scottish club in Europe. 

Skripchenko was the manager of FC Minsk and Sachywka was in defence when they beat St Johnstone on penalties following a 1-0 win in the away leg at McDiarmid Park.

The Dinamo Minsk manager reckons Hearts have a slight advantage in that they will have more information due to the Belarussian season having had at least 20 rounds of games.

"Hearts have more information about us because our championship starts in the spring," he said. "We have played more games than Hearts and this is the reason they might know our strengths better than we know of their strengths.

"It is not a problem for us, we are looking forward to this first match, we will try to do our best to play a good game and try not to make any mistakes on the pitch."

Sachywka added: "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."