Renown Bulgarian volleyball player Matey Kaziyski has hinted he may boycott the upcoming Olympic Games in London due to the scandal that erupted between Bulgaria’s volleyball federation and the country’s national team coach.

Coach Radostin Stoychev was dismissed by the federation on Sunday, a day after his team was defeated by Germany in the second semifinal of the 2012 Olympic Games-European Qualification Tournament in Sofia.

The dismissal triggered an outrage among Bulgarian volleyball fans who stated that Stoychev’s dismissal was humiliating and that the move would deal a serious blow to the team’s efforts to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Stoychev, who learned about his own dismissal from the media, as well as several key players, including Kaziyski and setter Andrey Zhekov, voiced their strong criticism of the way the volleyball federation has been managed.

On Wednesday, the federation reinstated Stoychev as national team coach, a move believed to be inspired by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. Borisov demanded that Stoychev be reinstated earlier the same day.

Stoychev declared that he will not lead the team at the Olympic Games if thefederation‘s president, Dancho Lazarov, does not resign.

On Friday, Kaziyski said the team is now focused on qualifying for the Olympic Games.

“I am staying in the team for the qualifying campaign,” he told Nova TV, prompting local media to suggest that he would boycott the Olympic tournament if the team qualifies.

Kaziyski once again criticized the federation, stating it has prioritized personal interests over volleyball.

Bulgaria‘s male national volleyballteam defeated Serbia in straight sets on Wednesday, booking its spot in the semifinals of the EuropeanOlympic qualifier in Sofia.

The Bulgarian team delighted a massive crowd by beating traditional rival Serbia 3:0 3:0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-23) in the capital’s Arena Armeets sports hall. On Tuesday, the home boys downed Slovenia, also in straight sets.

“I am very glad that we managed to win against the reigning European champion. We played excellent from the beginning until the very end of the game and did not give up in the tough moments. We found the strength to fight for every point,” Bulgarian captain Vladimir Nikolov commented after the game, as cited by Boxcore News.

Bulgaria‘s next game is against Spain on Friday.

Germany also secured a spot in Saturday’s semifinals of the 2012 Olympic Games European Qualification, as the team defeated Finland 3:1.

Bulgarian star striker Dimitar Berbatov is to remain with the Manchester Unitedteam during the next season, according to its manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

The statement that the Bulgaria football player is part of the team’s and Ferguson’s plans for the 2012 – 2013 season was made just hours before the important match of the “Red Devils” against Swansea at Old Trafford.

Ferguson added that Berbatov will play together with veterans Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, who will remain in the team as well.

Sir Alex explained that Berbatov could leave United this summer only if there was a very good, “satisfying” offer from another club.

The team of Levski beat arch-rivals CSKA 1:0 in a contested game at the VasilLevski Stadium in Bulgarian capital Sofia Sunday.

Close to 20,000 fans bought tickets for what was the most attended game of the current season of Bulgaria’s A Group.

Levski‘s Portugese winger Christovao Ramos scored for his team in the 49th minute, securing the win, and breaking a string of 9 CSKA winning games.

The good play of Levski‘s goalkeeper Plamen Iliev was also instrumental in the team’s victory in what was an intensely contested game.

After the game, CSKA remains first in the A Group of Bulgaria’s national football championship, with 63 points out of 26 games.

Levski is fourth with 53 points out of 26 games. Second and third are LudogoretsRazgrad (58 pts) and Chernomorets Burgas (55 pts).

More than 1,000 policemen were mobilized to guard the game, as the oldest rivalry in Bulgarian football has sometimes provoked violence.

At least 9 persons have been detained ahead of the game after they attempted to perform hooligan actions.

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Aston Villa has made yet another gesture of support for their ailing captain, Bulgarian Stiliyan Petrov – a special pie, named in his honor.

Villa supporters will be feasting on the Petrov Pie at Saturday’s game against Sunderland to honor and support the skipper of their favorite team, who was recently diagnosed with acute leukemia.

As part of a special promotion, fans were asked to suggest their favorite pie filling with the winning entry chosen to be served around the ground on matchday.

There is a Bulgarian flavor to the latest winning pie, which has been named in honor of Villa’s club captain Stiliyan Petrov.

The fillings in the Petrov pie are chicken, leek and Bulgarian kefta meatballs.

A percentage from sales of the Petrov Pie will be donated to the Cure Leukaemia charity as the skipper continues his battle against the illness.

Numerous football players, officials and fans across Bulgaria and Europe have shown their support for the 32-year-old Bulgarian international.

Petrov has been playing for Villa since 2006, after seven seasons in Celtic; before that he played for CSKA Sofia and PFC Montana. He has 105 appearances and 8 goals for the Bulgarian national football team.

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Kaiserslatern fans have demanded that resignation of the team’s Bulgarian coachKrasimir Balakov.

The supporters of the Bundesliga side are far from happy by Balakov’s performance, as his boys have lost all five league games they played since he took over as coach.

However, Kaiserslautern chairman Stefan Kuntz has made it clear that the Bulgariancoach will stay for another season, Kicker reports.

Kaiserslautern already lost even theoretical chances to avoid relegation and will play in Second Bundesliga next season.

Bulgaria’s legendary former football international Krasimir Balakov formally took over the German Bundesliga cellar dweller at the end of March, thus becoming the first Bulgarian coach of a Bundesliga team.

He replaced Marco Kurz who was sacked after a 16-game winless streak.

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Bulgarian President, Rosen Plevneliev, ended fifth Saturday in the traditional diplomatic ski race in the winter resort of Bansko, organized by the Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Plevneliev arrived in Bansko as early as Friday to try the tracks and practice. He voice the ambition to win the cup, but ranked at the fifth spot, after the “eternal” winner, Slovakia’s Ambassador to Bulgaria, Karol Mistrik, triumphed in the contest for the third time in its third edition.

In the aftermath, the President joked that we would work hard to make “Mistrik’s life difficult.”

On a serious note, Plevneliev stated that in 10 years Bulgaria would turn into a very strong destination where all forms of tourism – cultural, historical, SPA, countryside, sea, and winter – will thrive. He pointed out he saw his participation in the race as a symbol of mass sport and appealed to all to benefit from Bulgaria’s beautiful mountains and resorts.

Ambassador of Germany, Matthias Hopfner, is second, followed by Deputy Minister of Economy and Energy, Dimitar Tchohadzhiev, who beat his boss Minister, Traicho Traikov. Traikov ended forth in the race.

The competition was held in the presence of ambassadors from over ten countries, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, Krasimir Velchev, and many winter sports lovers.

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Manchester United‘s Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov is ninth in the World Goalgetter of the 21st Century current ranking of the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).

The World Goalgetter of the 21st Century is determined by adding the goals scored annually in all full “A” international games, Olympic final tournament, FIFA Club World Cup, continental club competitions of UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, AFC, CAF and OFC, continental Super Cup matches of the six confederations and the official matches between the topical continental club champions, which take place among the direction of the continental confederations.

Berbatov shares the 9th place with Andriy Svevchenko.

The list is topped by Didier Drogba of Cote-d’Ivoire – 92 goals, followed by Miroslav Klose of Germany – 88, Ruud Van Nistelrooij of the Netherlands – 87, Thierry Henry of France – 85, Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon – 84 goals, David Villa of Spain – 80, Raul of Spain – 75, Amado of Angola -74.

The list is expected to change yearly as more goals are scored by those at the forefront of football right now.

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22-year-old Taisuke Akiyoshi has become the first Japanese player to sign a contract with a Bulgarian A Professional Football League club.

After a successful trial period Akiyoshi signed a two-and-a-half year contract at Slavia Sofia,

“Good morning,” said Akiyoshi in Bulgarian as he was presented to the media. He added he hoped to become a first-team regular and help Slavia with his goals.

“I will try to get used to the Bulgarian lifestyle,” the player stated.

Ventsislav Stefanov, Slavia Sofia‘s flamboyant boss, said he hoped Akyioshi would bring some “Japanese qualities” to his side.

“People from that distant land are extremely disciplined and he will be an example of how to be industrious,” Stefanov pointed out, adding that some of his boys display a wrong attitude by thinking they are “big stars.”

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The injury that Manchester United‘s Bulgarian  forward Dimitar Berbatov picked up during his team’s unfortunate game against Crystal Palace on Wednesday is not as grave as initially believed, Sir Alex Ferguson has announced.

“Berbatov’s injury isn’t serious,” Ferguson  has said, as cited by the Red Devils’ official website.

“He got injured the week before. We’ve been getting a few injuries but it happens. At the moment, we’re going through a spell where we’re getting a few a week but we have to get on with it.”

Berbatov is to miss this weekend’s match at Aston Villa due to the ankle injury he sustained against the Eagles, but he is not expected to be away for a longer period.

The Bulgarian striker still struggles to find his way back into Manchester United‘s starting 11, as he faces tough competition from the likes of Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez.

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