September 4 – The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has fired the chairman of its Refereeing Commission, the Spaniard David Fernadez Borbalan (pictured). The BFU has also removed Petar Petrov, responsible for the introduction of VAR in Bulgaria, as well as the chief manager of referees in Bulgaria, Stoyan Alexiev.
The three had lost the trust of the clubs who brought pressure on them after a number of mistakes in the first seven rounds of the Bulgarian championship.
Borbalan (pictured) was appointed as the head of the Bulgarian referees a year ago on a two-year contract, when he replaced Hungarian Viktor Kassai.
“Several changes were made in the Refereeing Commission of the Bulgarian Football Union. The chairman of the Commission, David Borbalan, the chief manager, Stoyan Alexiev, and the person in charge of the VAR system, Petar Petrov, have had their contracts terminated. In the following days, official information about their deputies will be announced,” the BFU announced in a short message.
It is not yet clear who will take their places though replacements are expected to become clear in the next week in time for the resumption of fixtures after the international window.
On his inauguration as president of the Bulgarian Football Union earlier this year, Georgi Ivanov said that he would be uncompromising about refereeing errors. Recently, he complained that he was not satisfied with the performance of some of the referees, whose mistakes had caused major tension between the clubs in the efbet League.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1734951834labto1734951834ofdlr1734951834owedi1734951834sni@o1734951834fni1734951834