Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov Tuesday blamed the crisis in Bulgarian football on the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU). "It is time for BFU to realize that it is responsible for the fact that Bulgarian football has been going steadily downhill in recent years," said the Prime Minister. Denkov’s comment came after a chain of events following the organization of the European qualifier between the national football teams of Bulgaria and Hungary and the football fans’ plans for a major protest against the BFU.
In his words, the protest of the fans is justified because Bulgarian football needs a change. "The state has no right to interfere directly in [the work of sports] federations. As a citizen, when I see that a system is not functioning well, I have the right to raise the issue that change should be sought," Denkov said.
The Prime Minister added that a working group had been set up between representatives of the Interior Ministry, the Sofia Regional Directorate to the Interior Ministry, and the BFU, to work together to secure conditions for the smooth conduct of the upcoming football game between Bulgaria and Hungary, as well as the protest that is about to accompany it.
On Tuesday, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) ordered the November 16 football match to be played at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia behind closed doors, the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) said here on Tuesday.
Initially, BFU’s decision to change the venue of the game from Sofia to Plovdiv came when plans for a major protest against the BFU surfaced. BFU representatives held talks with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), complaining that they had received alerts of "riots posing serious danger to public order are being prepared". Taking into account the BFU's complaints, UEFA's safety and security unit conducted an analysis and found the match between Bulgaria and Hungary to be a high-risk one. Thus, UEFA sent an official letter to the BFU recommending that the European qualification be moved from the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia to the Hristo Botev Stadium in Plovdiv and that it be held at an earlier time behind closed doors.
However, Plovdiv Municipality said it cannot provide the Hristo Botev Stadium to the BFU for the period between November 14 and November 16 for the European qualifier between the men’s national football teams of Bulgaria and Hungary to take place there on November 16, the municipality said in a press release earlier on Monday. The owner of the company responsible for the construction works on the stadium, Iliyan Filipov, announced that the deadlines for the termination of the construction works, demobilization and bringing the construction site to a state in which it will not endanger the life and health of citizens is too short and there is no way this can happen in this period. According to him, the current general construction works are tailored solely to the programme of the Botev (Plovdiv) football club and their implementation cannot be safely interrupted within the requested timeframe. Given the circumstances, Plovdiv Mayor Kostadin Dimitrov reaffirmed his Friday decision that the Hristo Botev Stadium cannot be used by the BFU in the period between November 14 and November 16, the municipality’s press release further reads.
The actions of the BFU are without precedent: there is no other case in the history of world football where the football union of a country has voluntarily asked to host a football match without fans.
/NZ/
news.modal.text
