Bulgaria's Football Union (BFU) announced Monday it had dissolved its referees' committee and suspended eight referees indefinitely for poor decision-making in two weekend matches. "The seven-member referees' committeee, a management body that appoints referees for all Bulgarian League and Bulgarian Cup matches, was dissolved," BFU spokesman Pavel Kolev said.
The executive board of the BFU is due to officially ink this decision on January 18, when it will also discuss proposals for a new committee, he added. Eight referees were also stripped of their rights for an indefinite period of time for poor decision-making in two Bulgarian Cup matches this weekend, between Tcherno more Varna and Levski Sofia, and between CSKA Sofia and Litex Lovech. BFU President Borislav Mihaylov accused the referees of making "striking mistakes" but refused to go into details. He denied he had been under pressure to suspend them and dissolve the referees committee.
Bulgarian media and fans lashed out at the BFU after Bulgarian Cup referees cancelled a Levski Sofia goal in its 1-4 loss against Tcherno more Varna and failed to call a penalty in favour of Litex Lovech in its 0-1 defeat to CSKA Sofia. Mihaylov said he hoped to find "the right people" to take over the referees' committee after the winter break and also suggested inviting foreign referees for key games if the teams agreed.