Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 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

Ambassadors of France and Germany to Bulgaria

French Ambassador to Sofia: Paris Meeting is informal

Speaking to the Bulgarian National Radio, the ambassadors of Germany and France to Bulgaria Irene Plank and Joël Meyer commented on the current situation in Europe and the upcoming negotiations on Ukraine. "This is an informal..

published on 2/17/25 12:59 PM

Bulgaria's Ministry of Tourism to create a map for hard-to-reach tourist sites

The Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism will work to create a map of important, but hard-to-reach tourist and cultural-historical sites. The goal is then to insist on financing the necessary repairs and improvements that will facilitate visitors' access to..

published on 2/17/25 10:46 AM

Sofia has a chance to be elected "European Capital of Democracy"

The cities of Sofia, Rotterdam and Cascais will compete for the title of "European Capital of Democracy" in 2026 . The selection will take place until March 12, 2025, by over 4,500 juries in 47 countries. Barcelona was the winner of the title in..

published on 2/17/25 9:55 AM