BATE Borisov captain Vitali Rodionov has escaped punishment for what appeared to be a headbutt on Dane Massey during the first leg of his side's Champions League qualifier against Dundalk last week.

TV footage showed the altercation involving the Belarusian striker following BATE's game-winning goal, but UEFA's disciplinary panel has cleared the 31-year-old of any wrongdoing.

Rodionov however did apologise for the incident and will be available for selection when his side make the trip to Oriel Park tomorrow night.

“I was involved in an incident and I’m really sorry about that,” the striker told BATE's website in a statement.

"I understand the wrongfulness of my behaviour and accept that there’s no place for aggression in football. I’d like to voice my sincere apologies to Dane Massey.

 “I’d like to explain that my actions were not an assault and did not have any direct intent to harm the opponent and were not by any means a demonstration of enmity towards him – but were only a result of emotions after we scored a goal" he added.

“I accept wrongfulness of my behaviour and I’m ready to take any punishment from Uefa’s Disciplinary Body and from my club.”

The League of Ireland champions go into the return leg trailing 2-1 on aggregate, but are by no means out of the tie.

The sides kick-off at 7.45pm on Wednesday night.