SOFIA, July 19 (Reuters) - Four Bulgarian premier league
sides have failed to get permission to host matches next season
due to the poor condition of their stadiums, the Bulgarian
Football Union (BFU) said.
Botev Plovdiv, Belasitsa Petrich, Lokomotiv Mezdra and
Minyor Pernik will play home league matches at neutral venues
next season as their stadiums did not meet the BFU's licensing
criteria.
Cash-strapped champions CSKA Sofia, who were excluded from
next season's Champions League because of their debt, were
given an extension until Aug. 1 to upgrade facilities at their
Bulgarska Armiya stadium.
CSKA will be forced to play their home matches at the
National Stadium Vasil Levski if they do not meet requirements.
The new league season starts on Aug. 9.
'It was clear that we (BFU) made a lot of compromises in
resent seasons but we had to take this step because UEFA will
not be so tolerant to us any more,' BFU's Vice President Stefan
Ormandziev told reporters.
The Balkan country's clubs, many of whom face considerable
infrastructure difficulties, are struggling to meet
administrative, legal and financial conditions set by UEFA.
Several foreign players in the domestic league already
complained that the pitches, dressing rooms and the stands are
in poor condition.
