By Alexander Krassimirov
August 3 – There were more scenes of players being attacked by fans in Bulgaria at the weekend at a pre-season friendly between CSKA Sofia and Ironi Ashdod FC from Israel. Enraged CSKA Sofia Ultras stormed on to the pitch in Sofia on Sunday evening and charged at the Israeli players. The fans were angered by a series of hard fouls against CSKA players.
The Ashdod players ran from the on-rushing supporters, trying to get out of the stadium. Many headed to one of the empty sectors of Bulgarska armia stadium, but could not escape because the gates were closed.
The coaching staff of CSKA tried to calm the angry fans down as the Ashdod players desperately sought for ways to leave the stadium.
The game was attended by only a few police officers who were unable to contain the situation. Ultimately, the players of the Israeli team were gathered in one of the entrances of the stadium, where they were guarded by police while passions subside.
The friendly match, in which four red cards had been shown, was abandoned. No injuries were reported apart from those that had occurred in the actual match.
This was the last game for CSKA before the start of the championship in the amateur division V group in Bulgaria.
The participation of the club in non-professional football raises serious concerns for the state, as well as teams in the group. Some clubs have already said that they would find it difficult to cope with security for games against CSKA as their stadiums do not have the necessary security measures, and there are not separate stands for visiting supporters.
CSKA’s first match of the new season will be played August 9 at Bulgarska armia stadium against Strumska slava from Radomir which has a population of just 16 000.
Watch the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=141&v=bpjTYPOkII8
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