The Ministry of Youth and Sport has strongly condemned a major doping row in Bulgarian weightlifting and vowed that the culprits would be punished. Three weeks ahead of the Tbilisi European Championships it became known that 11 athletes, or in practice the entire national weightlifting team had tested positive for an illegal substance in a surprised test made two weeks ago. The banned substance found in the athletes’ systems was Stanozolol and was most probably taken in as part of food supplements. The Prosecutor General has been informed of the case so as to it becomes clear whether the supplier of good supplements should be blamed. This is the second row of this kind with the whole national team being involved. Two months before the Beijing Olympic Games all leading Bulgarian weightlifters were banned from official events for a term of 4 years following a surprise doping test.