site.btaUPDATED Bulgarian Football Union President Mihaylov Resigns

Borislav Mihaylov resigned as president of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) Monday. He announced his decision to come down at a press conference after a meeting of the BFU executive committee. He would not take questions from the press. He said he was proud of his work

"I resign, I will not answer any questions. Not a single football club has asked my resignation and it is the clubs that elected me. It is only through the media that resignations are asked," Mihaylov said.

"The organizational structure of the BFU has been improved, we have implemented digitization, the increase in TV rights is over 30%, we have built 19 pitches with three more due to open by the end of the year. I am proud of my team and I thank them for their hard work in this gruesome environment," he said.

Mihaylov’s 18-year tenure at the helm of the Bulgarian Football Union and the way he has handled Bulgarian football prompted a wide-scale protest by football fans on November 16. The protest went violent, worsening even more Mihaylov’s position.

Mihail Kasabov will temporarily occupy the vacant position after the first vice-president, Emil Kostadinov, refused to take the post. A new meeting of the executive committee will be held on December 6 to set a date for a congress to elect a new president.

Mihaylov also said that his team has been put to "unprecedented pressure, slander, aggression and lies". "And yet we fulfilled strategies for sustainable development of Bulgarian football. It is true that the national team did not play as we all wish it would have but the rest that depended on the BFU and myself has been accomplished. We invested time and resources to develop women's football. We continues investing in infrastructure projects," he said.

He blamed a hostile climate for not doing more. "We would have done more had we not turned into a punching bag for the Bulgarian society. The BFU is comprised of young and skilled people."   

He warned against attempts at interference in the election of the next BFU President.