site.btaBulgarian Swimming Federation Confirms Antani Ivanov's Penalty, Sofia City Administrative Court Yet to Rule

The Bulgarian Swimming Federation (BSF) announced that its General Assembly confirmed Wednesday swimmer Antani Ivanov's penalty, which was imposed on him because of a series of media appearances in which "through false statements, slander, insinuations and insults he undermined the prestige of the BSF, individual athletes, coaches, members of the BSF‘s Board, as well as sports institutions such as the Sports Ministry, the Bulgarian Olympic Committee and the Anti-Doping Center."

Ivanov lodged an appeal against the penalty, which was considered by the General Assembly on Wednesday but did not receive approval. A total of 82 votes were cast in favor of the penalty, two votes were cast against, and 3 abstained.

The General Assembly's vote leaves in place the penalty of a three-year suspension from competition and a fine of BGN 2,000.

At the end of 2022, Ivanov exercised his right to appeal the penalty through a lawsuit filed by his legal adviser Georgi Gradev in the Sofia City Administrative Court. The appeal suspends the implementation of the administrative act until the court's final ruling.

The swimmer is currently serving a 2-year sentence for missing doping tests.

"The governing body of the federation considers unacceptable and aimed at defamation the allegations of the competitor of Professional Swimming Club Cherno More Varna [Antani Ivanov] that the world record holder in the 400 m freestyle for juniors Petar Mitsin achieved his results in 2023 by using substances that fall under the banned list of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Ivanov provides no evidence for these allegations," BSF wrote in their statement when they first announced the penalty on September 23, 2023.

Ivanov finished 8th in 200 metres butterfly at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, one of the best achievements in Bulgarian swimming. He became the first Bulgarian to qualify for a final at such competition since Mihail Alexandrov in 2007.