Due to protest: BFS moved the match of the national team with Hungary to Plovdiv without an audience – Sport

The national football team will host Hungary in their penultimate match of the Euro 2024 qualifiers in Plovdiv instead of Sofia, and the match on November 16 will be played behind closed doors. This was announced by the Bulgarian Football Union (BFS), from where they explained that the match was moved on the recommendation of the European Football Federation (UEFA) for security reasons.

Fans were expected to stage a protest against the BFS management at the match on November 16, and there were calls on social media for supporters of all Premier League clubs to get involved. In recent rounds, fans of a number of teams chanted for resignations from the BFS in the 18th minute of matches as a symbol of Borislav Mihailov’s 18-year rule and held up banners against the leadership of the football union.

The BFS announced that they received a letter from UEFA with a recommendation that the match not be played at the Vasil Levski National Stadium.

“The European Football Headquarters sent an official letter to the Bulgarian Football Union recommending that the qualification for Euro 2024 between Bulgaria and Hungary, scheduled for November 16, be moved to the Hristo Botev Stadium in Plovdiv. The reason for this is the high risk assessment after analysis by UEFA’s security and safety department,” the statement said.

The BFS states that the protests represent a “serious danger to public order”.

“Due to signals of imminent mass riots and the serious danger to public order, the headquarters’ experts requested formal opinions from the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Metropolitan Directorate of Internal Affairs and the Bulgarian Football Union, and after additional communication with the Hungarian Football Federation, the European qualification decision was reached to be held on November 16, Thursday, at 19:00 at the Hristo Botev Stadium in Plovdiv behind closed doors. after the end of the match,” the message also said.