By Alexander Krassimirov
December 12 – The President of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) Borislav Mihaylov (pictured) has said he has received threatening text messages, possibly from criminal groups linked to match-fixing gangs.
With Bulgarian football in turmoil following police raids across the country and arrests of players on match-fixing charges, the threats to Mihaylov are another twist in the on-going investigation.
The texts to Mihaylov were received months before the current investigation became public and were forwarded to the police. The Ministry of Interior has not confirmed that the threats were related to the investigation which is continuing at speed with more players and people associated with the clubs being questioned today.
Match-fixing scandals are not new in Bulgaria. Earlier this year the BFU suspended youth player Steven Petkov for match-fixing. The shift in activity and police attention to the top level of the game and the focus on the Lokomotiv Plovdiv players (including former players of the club) is casting a long and dark shadow over the game in the coutnry
Mihaylov confirmed that the BFU has been working for some time both with UEFA and the Bulgarian police. “The BFU is like a mailbox and transmits information by UEFA to the Interior Ministry,” he said.
Mihaylov is currently outside of Bulgaria fulfilling UEFA commitments.
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