For the Love of Soccer
January 19, 2012 • By Blessings s. Makanani

A banned Bulgarian soccer referee, Luchezar Yonov, officiated a friendly game between Werder Bremen and AZ Alkamaar using a false identity.


Luchezar Yonov used the name of another eligible Bulgarian referee Raicho Raichev and successfully took control of a game played in the Turkish resort of Belek on Wednesday, January 11.


Yonov, together with his assistant referees Petar Tarulov and Emil Mitev, were suspended in 2011 for officiating South American matches without the knowledge of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU).


Commenting on this development, BFU Commissioning Chairman Kostadin Kostadinov, said this story has convinced him that the 2011 ban was a right decision.


Raichev, the eligible referee whose name was faked, said he will take necessary measures to clear his name blaming his colleagues of being sneaky.


Further reports, as confirmed by Raichev, said there was a bogus 10 minutes of extra time and a controversial penalty in the ninth minute of added time. The Bundesliga club Werder managed to beat their Dutch opponent 2 - 1 coming back from a goal down.


The referees association has urged the BFU to inform the European soccer governing body of the incident.


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