May 3 – Bulgarian champion club Ludogorets Razgrad has sent an open letter to the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU), the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Youth and Sports calling for action over the fan disturbances at their derby match against CSKA at the Bulgarian Army Stadium on Sunday.
The game in Sofia was interrupted in the second half, when the ultras of CSKA began to pelt Ludogorets captain Kiril Despodov with various objects. After the match, Despodov said that he was hit with “coins, lighters and stones”. One of the assistant referees was also hit with a coin.
The match was stopped for about 15 minutes, as the referees of the match and the players of Ludogorets went to the dressing room. Eventually, after the situation calmed, the match was resumed.
The Bulgarian Football Union has punished CSKA Sofia with a fine of BGN 15,300 (€7,650) and two home matches behind closed doors. But Ludogorets wanted stiffer penalties and two days later sent their open letter calling for “tough measures against football hooligans”.
“We believe that the time has come for discussion and taking strict measures to protect the life and health of football players, officials and visitors during football matches defined as risky. In Bulgaria, we are used to measures being taken when the irreparable happens, and usually the discussion falls silent a week after each fatal incident,” said the letter.
“After the match on Sunday at the Bulgarian Army stadium, we are more than sure that tough measures are needed against the football hooligans, who with their actions create the conditions for tragedies that will be remembered for years. And all the silent witnesses will be guilty.
“We do not accept aggression and risking human life for the sake of winning a football match, no matter what the stakes are. Human life is of the highest value and we must protect it.
“We are categorical that it is inadmissible to start a football match in violation of most of the requirements of the Bulgarian football union (BFU), described in the regulatory documents. From our personal experience, we know that a match in European tournaments would not start at all if the roadways in the sectors were blocked due to drastically exceeding the capacity of the stands. A football match cannot take place if there is a huge amount of bombs that have been planted in the stadium in advance. We do not understand how someone allowed the installation of pyrotechnic devices on the fences in front of the sectors, given that this is absolutely prohibited by the BFU.
“We do not understand how the unproblematic throwing of stones, which directly endangered the health of Kiril Despodov, is allowed. Recently, again at the same stadium, our doctor Valentin Velikov and football player Ilker Budinov were injured, but this was quickly and helpfully forgotten. Not to mention the disrespectful attitude towards the police and the aggression against the uniformed. This already shows that the thin red line between order and anarchy is being crossed. And in the big championships there are mega scandals between the teams, but the security rules are strictly followed.”
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1735762015labto1735762015ofdlr1735762015owedi1735762015sni@o1735762015fni1735762015