Bulgarian Coach Bullied, Stripped by Fans at 1st Press Conference

Petev poses as Levski's new coach before the incident. Photo by BGNES

Rarely has an introductory press conference been more stressful for a coach than that of Bulgarian Ivaylo Petev, who was attacked by Levski Sofia fans on his first day at the club.

Levski, Bulgarian champions on 26 occasions, were unveiling Petev after sacking Serbian Slavisa Jokanovic earlier on Tuesday following a mediocre start to the new season.

A group of angry fans stormed the press conference, urging Petev to strip his Levski Sofia shirt, as they deemed him not worthy of wearing it.

The fans stated that Petev, who led local club Ludogorets Razgrad to two surprising back-to-back titles in Bulgaria, was a supporter of Levski archrivals CSKA Sofia.

The fans eventually stripped the coach of his shirt and forced him to leave the room. The fans also confronted Levski CEO Nasko Sirakov, who resigned later on Tuesday.

Levski owner Todor Batkov described the incident as a “disgrace,” saying Petev remains the club’s new coach.

Levski are to face CSKA on October 19.

A video of the bizarre press conference can be seen HERE.

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