September 26 – Pavlin Nikolov,owner of the Bulgaria’s Spartak Varna, has said he will to stop funding the club if the fans “continue with the provocations”.
Spartak supporters have protested at the appointment of Kyriakos Georgiou (pictured centre), who took over the team at the beginning of September. Tensions escalated sharply after Spartak’s loss to arch-rivals Cherno more last weekend.
Fans demanded that Georgiou was immediately relieved of his post or he resigned. Neither happened. Instead Nikolov (pictured left), gave a vote of confidence to the coach and said that if the fans continue with their actions, he would withdraw his financial support.
“I will be very clear. I respect each and every one of you and I value the opinion of the people who support the team, but I expect the same with the decisions that I and my team make,” said Nicolov in statement.
“Let me state it again to be absolutely clear: I vote my full confidence in the head coach and his team! I have committed myself to work for Spartak and continue, even more ambitiously, forward. With my work, with my actions and with my means, I showed the entire Spartak community that I have the desire and ambitions to turn the club into a serious factor in Bulgaria. Hardly anyone in their wildest dreams imagined that after nine rounds we would be in the top positions, one point behind fourth and three points from third,” he continued.
“Unfortunately, there are people who, apparently driven by other interests and motives, have decided to interfere in every possible way. Today, two individuals took the liberty of sending threats and an ultimatum to the head coach to leave the club and the city…
“To all those who feel like factors and think they can determine who runs the club and who represents it, I will say this: If provocations, threats and attempts to sabotage the work of the club continue, I will not hesitate to take extreme measures and stop funding the club.”
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1734930518labto1734930518ofdlr1734930518owedi1734930518sni@o1734930518fni1734930518