Soccer-Belarus manager resigns after refusing to take pay cut

Dec 6 ( Reuters) - Belarus manager Alexander Khatskevich has quit after refusing to take a pay cut following poor results in World Cup qualifying, the Belarus Football Federation ( BFF) said on Tuesday.

Belarus are second-bottom in Group A with two points from four games in the race to reach the 2018 finals in Russia.

"Due to the lack of results during the autumn qualification matches for the 2018 World Cup, the coach was asked to agree to a cut in his wages," the BFF said on its website (www.abff.by).

"There was a discussion between the head of the BFF, Sergei Rumas, and Alexander Khatskevich. The head coach of the national team refused to take on the new conditions. Therefore it was decided to end Khatskevich's contract," the statement added.

The 43-year-old former Dynamo Kiev and Belarus midfielder had been in charge of the national team since December 2014. (Reporting By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy in Moscow; Editing by Ken Ferris)