Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Resignations demanded after the football protests in Sofia

PM Nikolay Denkov
Photo: BGNES

Bulgaria's Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Stoyan Temelakiev has been fired, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov announced earlier today. "Instead of a football celebration, we observed ugly scenes of violence. Mainly because of the management of the Bulgarian Football Union which has been led to decline. There are mistakes on the part of the Ministry of the Interior," Denkov said at a press briefing.


The Prime Minister announced that he would discuss the resignation of Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov with Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel, because he made an inadequate assessment of the situation. Stoyanov's resignation was also requested by the co-chairman of the ruling coalition "We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria" (PP-DB) Kiril Petkov. 

The chairman of the MRF parliamentary group Delyan Peevski objected and announced that the interior minister was pressured during the local elections to work in favour of the PP-DB. 

GERB leader Boyko Borisov demanded the resignations of sports minister Dimitar Iliev and the chairman of the Bulgarian Football Union Borislav Mihailov. Acting chief prosecutor Borislav Sarafov ordered the prosecutor's office to conduct an inspection of the management of the Bulgarian Football Union because of media publications about financial crimes, including the "black lottery", reports BTA.

At the end of his press conference and the blocked work of the parliament, the prime minister said: "I will not give in to pressure. GERB and MRF, who are always together lately, as we see, have every right to overthrow the government. Let them do it"!

At a briefing, Minister of the Interior Kalin Stoyanov stated that the director of the Sofia metropolitan directorate of the interior had initiated an internal probe as a matter of urgency, to establish whether any police officers overstepped their powers during last night’s protest by football fans in Sofia. In his words, the adequate reaction by the police prevented more serious damage, or even casualties. 




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Ivan Kondov participates in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting at the UN headquarters

Bulgaria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Kondov participated in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting within the framework of the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. In his..

published on 9/26/24 9:29 AM
President Rumen Radev (L) and President Masoud Pezeshkian (R)

President Radev requests assistance from Iran for the release of Bulgarians in Yemen

Bulgaria supports the United Nations' mission of having humanity's future shaped by development policies and not by military conflicts, President Rumen Radev said during a meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York. President Radev..

published on 9/26/24 8:58 AM

Bulgaria participates in the European Day of Languages

At the initiative of the Council of Europe, the European Day of Languages is celebrated every year on September 26. The initiative, supported by the European Commission and the Council of Europe, aims to promote cultural diversity and..

published on 9/26/24 7:15 AM