Bulgarian clubs punished after fan violence

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgarian club Neftohimik Burgas have been handed a one-match home ban and Lokomotiv Plovdiv have been ordered to play their next home game behind closed doors after hooliganism marred their league match on Friday.

The punishment, handed down by the Bulgarian Football Union's disciplinary commission on Tuesday, will be in effect for Neftohimik's game against Cherno More Varna on September 14 and Lokomotiv's match against Lokomotiv Sofia on September 2.

The Burgas-based side were also fined 5,000 levs ($3,400) and Lokomotiv were fined 7,000 levs ($4,800) for the incidents, which led to several arrests.

More than 100 fans ripped plastic seats at the Lazur Stadium and pelted each other during halftime of the game that Lokomotiv won 3-1. Trouble erupted when several visiting fans clashed with the home supporters.

Newcomers Neftohimik are eighth in the standings with seven points from six games. Lokomotiv, the 2004 Bulgarian champions, are fifth on 10 points.

Violence inside and outside stadiums has plagued Bulgarian football in recent seasons, endangering the safety of players and fans.

($1 = 1.4603 Bulgarian levs)

(Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by John Mehaffey)


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world