site.btaNo Away Supporters Allowed to Attend Match Between PFC Levski and FC Shkupi in Sofia

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) will not allow away supporters to attend the second leg of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League between Bulgarian side PFC Levski and FC Shkupi (Republic of North Macedonia), which will take place on August 3 in Sofia, the Bulgarian Football Union reported here Tuesday.

The safeguard measure was taken as a response to an official letter from the Bulgarian Football Union President Borislav Mihaylov to UEFA. The letted expresses concerns about safety and public order during the football game if FC Shkupi fans are allowed to attend it, following the serious problems, provocations and incidents that occurred during the first match in Skopje.

Four Bulgarian football fans last Thursday evening were assaulted in Skopje before a match between PFC Levski Sofia and the local FC Shkupi which they planned to attend. A 29-year-old Bulgarian male was stabbed and hospitalized after the attack. Nineteen citizens of Bulgaria and three nationals of North Macedonia were detained by police for behaving aggressively and breaching the peace.

In an official reply addressed to Borislav Mihaylov, UEFA Deputy Secretary General Giorgio Marchetti informed that UEFA assessed the match in Sofia as one of high risk, which is why a meeting has been immediately held with representatives of the football federations of Bulgaria and North Macedonia, representatives of the two football clubs and UEFA officials. Assurances have been received from FC Shkupi that tickets for the away fans would not be put on sale and both clubs have been urged to communicate clearly to the public that the match in Sofia would take place without the presence of supporters from the Republic of North Macedonia.