Latvian champions Riga FC have suffered another major injury blow after Latvia national team midfielder Renārs Varslavāns was diagnosed with an anterior cruciate ligament tear following Friday’s away victory against BFC Daugavpils.
Varslavāns went down in the 68th minute of Riga FC’s 3-1 win in a non-contact situation, immediately clutching his knee in visible pain. The 24-year-old was unable to leave the pitch on his own and was taken away by ambulance.
On Sunday, Latvian football journalist Edmunds Novickis reported that the worst fears had been confirmed, with Varslavāns suffering a torn ACL for the third time in his career despite still being only 24 years old.
The midfielder had been one of Riga FC’s standout performers this season, scoring three goals in 11 league appearances and playing a key role in Adrian Guľa’s side during the opening months of the campaign.
Following the match, Riga FC head coach Adrian Guľa delivered a lengthy and emotional criticism of the playing surface in Daugavpils, questioning how such conditions are still allowed in Latvia’s top division.
“Honestly, I haven’t yet analysed the episode and I don’t know whether the injury had any connection to the pitch,” Guľa said in the post-match press conference. “But we are living in 2026 already. Great respect to Daugavpils, they are a good team, but in 2026 there is no other team in Europe with players of this value playing competitive matches on a pitch like this.”
The Slovak coach stressed that his comments were not directed at artificial pitches in general, referencing clubs such as Žilina, Midtjylland and Bodø/Glimt as examples of teams successfully using high-quality synthetic surfaces.
“This is not criticism, this is reality,” Guľa continued. “Daugavpils needs help, Latvian football needs help. Someone has to make a concrete decision and say enough is enough – you cannot play here anymore. Then suddenly everyone would wake up.”
Guľa also revealed that he had spoken to a former player who played in Daugavpils 15 years ago and was told that the stadium conditions remain largely unchanged.
While the coach stopped short of directly blaming the pitch for Varslavāns’ injury, he repeatedly stated that Latvian footballers and clubs deserve better infrastructure.
Riga FC’s injury list continues to grow, with Varslavāns now joining long-term absentees Anthony Contreras, Andres Salazar and Emīls Birka on the sidelines.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWoUomKzeIw
https://x.com/LV_futbols/status/2053374307934322981
