Bulgarian Football Union Reports Match-Fixing Suspicions To Prosecutors

The Bulgarian Football Union has reported suspected match-fixing to the police surrounding the possible "payment of bribes to fix the outcome of second-tier games," according to Angel Krasimirov of REUTERS. In a statement on Tuesday, the BFU said officials from five Bulgarian clubs -- Septemvri Simitli, Lokomotiv Mezdra, Vereya Stara Zagora, Botev Vratsa and Pirin Razlog -- were "summoned to give evidence." Last week, Lokomotiv Mezdra "sparked the match-fixing row after accusing referee Nikolay Andreev of 'blatantly influencing' the outcome" of its match at Vereya. Lokomotiv captain Nikolay Tsvetkov said, "The referee was trying to provoke us during the whole game. He warned us that he would award the hosts a penalty." On Thursday, Vereya beat Lokomotiv 1-0 "thanks to a penalty two minutes from time." Most of the games in Bulgaria's second division are "included on bookmakers' betting coupons" (REUTERS, 4/14).