site.btaFootball Legend Hristo Stoichkov to Be Relieved of Duties as Bulgaria's Honorary Consul to Spain

Sofia, October 10 (BTA) - A procedure is initiated to relieve football legend Hristo Stoichkov from his duties as Bulgaria's Honorary Consul to Spain, seated in Barcelona and covering the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia and Aragon, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry reported Tuesday.

The decision is to be reviewed by the Council of Ministers after an internal coordination procedure takes place.

Cabinet appointed Stoichkov as this country's Honorary Consul to Spain in July of 2011. His work, however, has been impeded in recent years by the fact that he mostly resides in the US, the Foreign Ministry said. In addition to that, Stoichkov's future work as honorary consul will be obstructed by the complicated communication he has with the official Spanish authorities, which is the result of his recent public statements, the press release said.

Stoichkov, who was a long-time player for the Barcelona Football Club, spoke publicly in favour of the independence referendum in Catalonia and denounced the violence used by the Spanish authorities in the referendum's aftermath. During a TV appearance, he also alleged that Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria is a supporter of her country's long-time military dictator Francisco Franco. He later apologized for having made these allegations.

The Foreign Ministry recalls that Spain is a strategic partner and a friend to Bulgaria, bilateral relations are excellent at all levels and cooperation in areas of mutual interest is intense.