President Mikhailov, the national team's performance bottomed out during his tenure Various corruption charges

Bulgarian Football Association President Mikhailov Resigns

The Associated Press reported on the 28th (Korean time) that Bulgarian soccer's 1994 U.S. World Cup semifinal hero Borislav Mikhailov, president of the Bulgarian Football Association, voluntarily resigned due to large-scale protests by soccer fans. reported.

According to an AP report, thousands of people have taken to the streets in recent weeks to demand Mikhailov's resignation.

Chairman Mikhailov has served as chairman for 16 years in two terms since 2005, and there have been constant suspicions of corruption, including misappropriation of public funds and involvement in illegal betting.

The Bulgarian national team's performance hit rock bottom during his tenure and showed no signs of rebounding.

Bulgaria has never advanced to the finals of a major international tournament since Euro 2004 (2004 European Football Championship).

When the national team was eliminated early from the Euro 2024 qualifiers with the worst performance, fans gathered together and began to raise their voices.

Bulgarian soccer fans protest

Protests intensified after a 2-2 draw against Hungary in the final home game of the preliminary round on the 17th.Bulgaria ended up finishing the preliminary round with 4 draws, 4 losses, and no wins.

Meanwhile, the political world also put pressure on Chairman Mahailov.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov recently sent an open letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino urging him to fire Mihailov and appoint an interim management.

Prime Minister Denkov urged President Infantino to make a decision, saying, “Dissatisfaction among Bulgarian football clubs has been accumulated for a long time.”It was based on the fact that FIFA has the authority under regulations to remove the president of a member country in exceptional circumstances.

Separately, Bulgarian judicial authorities have opened an investigation to confirm corruption allegations raised by the media against Chairman Mikhailov.

“The only reason I am resigning is to calm everyone down,” Mikhailov said in a statement as he stepped down.

Bulgarian soccer fans protest

He added that he had not been asked to resign from any of the Bulgarian football clubs.

President Mikhailov, who played as a goalkeeper during his career, was a soccer hero representing Bulgaria.

As Bulgaria's captain at the U.S. World Cup, he took the lead in creating the semifinals legend.

In the round of 16, he blocked the opponent's shots twice in the penalty shootout against Mexico, making a decisive contribution to Bulgaria's advancement to the quarterfinals.

Chairman Mikhailov turned a blind eye to the Nazi salute made by far-right Bulgarian fans during a Euro 2020 qualifying game in 2019, and hurled racist abuse at black players of the England national team, leading to his resignation and becoming chairman in 2021. He also came back. 카지노사이트