Bulgarian coach resigns after ‘catastrophic’ 2-5 loss to Georgia

SOFIA, June 6. (DPA/EP) –

The Bulgarian soccer coach, Yasen Petrov, has resigned from his post after the 2-5 defeat against Georgia in the League of Nations, a match that the country’s federation has called a “catastrophic defeat” and that has caused the dismissal of the technician.

Petrov, who had been in charge since January 2021, commented that his team had made too many defensive mistakes and accepted responsibility for the loss. “I don’t have the moral right to stay,” he declared.

For its part, the Bulgarian federation, in a statement published on Monday, made clear its “strong indignation” at what they describe as a “catastrophic defeat” and announced that Petrov’s replacement will soon be known. Meanwhile, manager Giorgi Ivanov will be the one to temporarily take over the national bench.


Bulgaria is in the fourth group of the third category of the League of Nations, where on the first day it drew 1-1 against Macedonia and on the second it was defeated against Georgia. Furthermore, both matches were played on Bulgarian soil, at the Ludogorets ground in Razgrad.

Now the team will try to turn the classification around in the next match, which will be played on June 9 in Gibraltar and where not falling to relegation is at stake. The national team break will end trying to take revenge on Georgia, on June 12, but this time at home.