An excavator burned on the construction site of the new stadium in Aračinovo, just days after building work began. The incident was reported to police after midnight, at around 02:36. No one was hurt, and the fire was put out by Skopje's fire brigade.

The foundation stone was laid last week. The project is a training stadium for Aračinovo's FK Shkëndija, an investment of around 550,000 euros meant to give young footballers proper modern facilities.

Mayor Daut Bekiri has no doubt it was deliberate. "Law enforcement is investigating the case and we are asking for it to be cleared up as quickly as possible. But let's be clear: nobody will stop us. Work will continue, the project will be completed and the stadium for FK Shkëndija will be built. Aračinovo waited 5 to 10 years for this day. You can burn machines, but you can't burn the will and the desire to build," he said.

The VLEN coalition also weighed in. "What happened on the Shkëndija stadium site is not just damage to a few machines. It is an attempt to attack a project that symbolises development, investment and a better future for Aračinovo," the party said, adding that "development is not stopped with fire, vandalism or threats".

The statements arrived faster than the answers. So far the public knows the time of the report and that an excavator burned. It doesn't know whether this was arson or an accident, or who would benefit from stopping a half-million-euro project. Those are questions for the police, not for press conferences. If someone really did torch machinery to stop a stadium, their name should be heard before the stands get their seats.