Bulgarian soccer boss under fire for racist comments

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Bulgaria’s Vasil Bozhikov (bottom) in action against French Dimitri Payet (top) during the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifier in Sofia, Bulgaria, October 7, 2017. Photo: EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV

Bulgarian Football Union technical director Georgi Ivanov has faced backlash after saying no player “of a different skin color” should play for the national team.

I stand by my words that my wish is to watch Bulgaria with Bulgarian players, Ivanov said on Wednesday after facing critical backlash in sports and social media.

As long as Im manager, a foreign player, with a foreign passport, another skin color, won’t play, Ivanov told national radio on Tuesday, shortly after meeting with the Montana FC youth team.

He added: I don’t want players from other countries replacing the Bulgarians. Some countries could do it, but for me it’s a bad practice.

The growing presence of foreign players in the football league and whether this is blocking the development of local talent has been a hot topic for years.

Most recently, Bulgaria scored a 0-0 draw with Luxembourg on November 20, in an away friendly, with no naturalized players listed.

This century, several players from Brazil have been selected for the national team. In the late 1990s, Serbian-born players such as Zoran Yankovic and Predrag Pazin were part of the Bulgarian squad at Euro 2004.

The Bulgarian national team is currently managed by a Serb, Mladen Krstaji, a former central defender for the German teams Schalke 04 and Werder.

Georgi Ivanov is a former striker who was one of Levski (Sofia) top scorers in the early 2000s. He retired in 2009. Since then he has built a managerial career in the league and was briefly national team interim coach in 2022.

In October 2019, the Bulgarian Football Union was charged by UEFA for racist chanting during a match between Bulgaria and England.

Football Union president Borislav Mihaylov tendered his resignation after the controversy but has since withdrawn his decision to resign. He was recently challenged by former Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov who is eyeing the presidential post in the future.

A 2021 analysis by BIRN examined the failing state of Bulgarian football and the desire for systematic reforms which in many ways reflect the country’s political climate.

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