eyewitness
Eurofootball, the first and largest private
bookmaker in Bulgaria.
In1999 he bought shares of CSKA
Sofia – the most successful football
club in Bulgaria – and was an owner
until 2006. During this period CSKA
won the league twice (in 2003 and
2005) and the cup in 2006.
According to the US Embassy in
Bulgaria, Bozhkov, Grisha Ganchev (the
current owner of CSKA Sofia) and Todor
Batkov (the former president of Levski)
are, among others, prime examples of
Bulgarian businessman who combine
football with organised crime. Bozhkov
in particular is accused of being “active
in money laundering, privatisation fraud,
threats, blackmail, racketeering and
illegal business with antiques.”
Levski ended the 2018-19 campaign
in third, with optimism that the club
could end their11-year wait for a title
in Bozhkov’s first full season in charge.
But inJanuary, only a year after his
initial investment, everything changed.
Brothers Tsvetomir and Boyan
Naydenov, owners of Efbet casinos and
minority partners in Eurofootball, had
accused Bozhkov of threatening to kill
them, while charges of extortion and
bribery were also brought against him.
In addition, the Bulgarian parliament
approved the first reading of an
amendment to the Gambling Act that
would prohibit all lotteries but the
state-run Bulgarian Sports Totalizator,
following allegations that private
operators had been significantly
underpaying their taxes – including
Bozhkov’s National Lottery AD.
Bozhkov said he would stop financing
Levski if the law was passed, and called
on more than10,000 Levski fans to
take to the streets. Protests against the
government, which began inJuly, were
almost certainly financed by him.
As a result of the charges against
him, a European arrest warrant was
issued. When police entered his offices
to search them, he was already in
Dubai. “This time they decide to wipe
me off the face of the Earth,” he said.
The attack against him was part of the
government’s wider clampdown on
the Bulgarian oligarchy. “I am afraid to
return to Bulgaria. I am afraid for my
life. I am not a criminal,” Bozhkov added.
This is not the first time that an
owner of Levski has had a brush with
the law. In August 2000, then owner
Michel Chernoi was expelled as
a “serious threat to the national
assurance,” accused, among other
things, of laundering money. Although
he was out of the country, Chernoi
continued to be president of Levski
over the next four years and financially
supported the club. In the summer
of 2004 he delivered his shares to
his lawyer Todor
Batkov, who was
the president of
Levski until 2015.
With Bozhkov
fleeing to Dubai,
financial support for Levski ended. He
even offered the club to the Bulgarian
prime minister, claiming that it was his
responsibility after “the deliberate and
illegal eradication of the companies
providing for its maintenance.”
Meanwhile, the club was plunged
into crisis. Executive director Pavel Kolev
said: “The club’s situation is stalemate.
I really don’t know whether the team
will finish the season. The future does
not look like a bed of roses. I have no
contact with Vasil Bozhkov. We are
awaiting development and clearness.”
Yet help did arrive from Levski’s fans.
Determined to live up to their
reputation as the most loyal supportersin the country, “the blue community”
wasunitedinanefforttosavetheclub.
Thousands of people queued up for
match tickets and season tickets.
Donations began through SMS and in
just one month they collected around
€750,000 – a significant amount for
such a short period. The financial boost
was crucial in Levski’s bid for survival
last season.
In the midst of all this, coach Petar
Hubchev was sacked, with the team
failing to win a game in 2020. This
threw another spanner in the works,
with the former coach demanding
all the money owed up until the
end of his contract.“The club’s situation is stalemate. I really don’t
know whether the team will finish the season”
Pavel Kolev, Levski Sofia executive directorIn exile...Vasil Bozhkov