SOFIA, Nov 17 (AFP): At least 33 police officers and 24 football fans were injured in clashes outside the stadium where Bulgaria were playing a Euro 2024 qualifier against Hungary, authorities said Friday.
UEFA had ordered Thursday's game in Sofia to be played behind closed doors after a request by the national federation, which feared trouble following a supporters' call for a major protest against the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) and its long-time president Borislav Mihaylov.
But around 4,000 supporters gathered outside the national stadium and some involved in the demonstrations suffered broken limbs in the clashes. "Twenty-four injured were examined, including seven who were hospitalised with head traumas, broken legs and arms and many who were gassed with pepper spray," Katya Sungarska, a spokeswoman for the national emergency centre, told the news agency Friday.
"The injured police are 33, there are some with serious injuries and hospitalised," Stefan Ivanov, deputy chief of the Sofia police directorate, said at a briefing.
Thirty-three football fans were detained last night and arrests were still being made, he said, slamming the violence as "an unprecedented violation of public order with serious aggression and posing high risk".
Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said he would consult UEFA about their assessment of the organisation of the event and the decision to shut the stadium to fans.
"On Thursday we witnessed ugly scenes of violence. Their main cause is the long-standing management of the Bulgarian Football Union which led to a decline of Bulgarian football, without any prospects for development," Denkov told journalists.
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