Levski chief: Bulgaria infected by match fixing

Match-fixers have infected Bulgarian soccer in recent seasons, Levski Sofia owner Todor Batkov said on Tuesday.

"It's true," the premier league club boss told television station bTV. "I've always tried to keep Levski away from such things but it's obvious there's match manipulation and illegal betting in Bulgaria.

"It's no secret that (world governing body) FIFA has initiated investigations in several countries and this will not skip Bulgaria," he said.

Last month, Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) president Borislav Mihaylov met FIFA president Sepp Blatter in Zurich to discuss the state of the Bulgarian game and its future.

"We've experienced some problems with corruption and illegal betting and I want to deal with these matters to clean up Bulgarian football," Mihaylov was quoted as saying on the FIFA website.

The BFU's referee commission chairman Borislav Alexandrov resigned in September following allegations of match fixing. Hours later, the BFU sacked all seven members of the commission.

The Bulgarian championship has been marred by accusations of bias among referees. There have also been a growing number of threats levelled against referees and club officials.