Coronavirus Outbreak: Bulgarian sports minister Krasen Kralev urges football clubs to observe safety measures in letter to union

Sofia: Bulgarian Sports Minister Krasen Kralev on Thursday urged football clubs to observe the strict government measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus after local media reports of some teams violating the ban on outdoor gatherings this week. [caption id=“attachment_8089831” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Kralev sent a letter to the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) to express his concern after a video published online showed CSKA’s Serbian head coach Milos Kruscic, two of his assistants and at least six foreign players training at the club base in Pancharevo on Tuesday. Bulgarian authorities have already launched an investigation over a possible violation following quotes from a Lokomotiv Plovdiv player that his club had resumed training last week. The two clubs, however, denied any wrongdoing, saying they would observe the government’s measures. The Balkan country, which declared a state of emergency until 13 May, has imposed a ban on groups of more than two adults congregating together while the BFU’s medical commission prohibited all team training activities on 17 March. “Minister Kralev urged the BFU to re-notify in written form all its members about the restrictions, imposed and the subsequent sanctions for their violation,” the sports ministry said in a statement. Football in the Black Sea state has been suspended for almost a month and the BFU has said the ban will remain in place for the top divisions at least until 13 May. As of Thursday, Bulgaria had 611 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 24 deaths. Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak