site.btaKostadinova to Respect Court Decision on Olympic Committee Leadership

Acting Bulgarian Olympic Committee President Stefka Kostadinova said that she will fully comply with the court's decision after it was alerted with three complaints against the decisions of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) General Assembly on March 19, where Olympic shooting medallist Vesela Lecheva was elected as the new BOC president.

High jump legend Kostadinova, who had led the BOC since 2005 and was seeking re-election for a sixth consecutive term, lost the vote by 33:48 in favour of Lecheva. However, after receiving complaints, the Sofia City Court suspended the registration of the new BOC leadership in the Commercial Register on Monday, meaning Kostadinova remains acting President until a final court ruling on the case.

On Wednesday, the Board of Directors of the Association of Bulgarian Sports Federations (ABSF) issued an open letter voicing concern over the decision to appeal Lecheva’s election as BOC President.

Commenting on the letter, Kostadinova said: "As the acting President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee, I must clarify that some of the federations in our most successful sports are not members of the newly established Association of [Bulgarian] Sports Federations and do not support the Declaration published yesterday. The BOC represents all Olympic federations, not just a part of them."

Meanwhile, it has emerged that after Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) President Georgi Ivanov, as well as two other members of the newly elected BOC Executive Committee, appointed by Lecheva, have withdrawn and have not been submitted for registration as part of the governing body.

"As President of the BOC and in compliance with the laws of the country, I must respect the complaints filed after the General Assembly election, which come not only from individual members but also from federations. I believe that no one benefits from unnecessary tension and that everything should be lawful, not driven by emotions and calls for action. I want to assure our Olympic family that I will immediately comply with the Bulgarian court’s ruling on this case, whatever it may be," Stefka Kostadinova’s statement concluded.