President Radev: Bulgarian football is managed the same way as the state

Commenting on the Bulgaria-England match scandal and the subsequent resignation of the head of the Bulgarian Football Union, Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev said that the state of the football is a mirror of the state of the country. He called for draconian measures against football hooliganism.

Responding to the resignation submitted by Bulgarian Football Union head Borislav Mihailov at the insistence of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Radev said that the demand for Mihailov’s resignation had been an escape from responsibility by the people in the ruling power.

The statements that Mihailov’s resignation was demanded because of the racist behaviour meant that those in power had shown themselves up, because no federation bears responsibility for the behaviour of fans and no federation, including the Bulgarian Football Union, had any security or investigative functions, cannot take the role of law enforcement and the state, the President said.

Radev urged interested political circles to stop using football agitations.

The state needs to implement draconian measures against football hooliganism and while politicians are tempted to use football agitations in protests and counter-protests, these relapses will continue,” he added.

The racist abuse of the Bulgarina football fans has received a wide negative response in the world media.

Radev said that it was extremely unpleasant for Bulgaria, which saved 50 000 Jews and did not allow any of them to be sent to the death camps at Europe’s worst time, to be personified by racism.

We should not allow generalization to this problem, Radev noted.