Bulgaria has blocked the Hungarian national team from playing their crucial match in front of spectators
The Hungarian team will play against Bulgaria in Plovdiv instead of Sofia, and the Bulgarian Football Union has issued a press release that the match will be played in front of empty stands.
The host association, responsible for organising the national team’s European Championship qualifier on 16 November, has changed the venue and time of the Bulgaria-Hungary match for security reasons and has chosen to bar fans from entering the stadium.
The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has asked UEFA to allow the 16 November Bulgaria-Hungary EURO2024 qualifying match to be held in Plovdiv instead of Sofia, with a kick-off time of 6.45 p.m. instead of the originally announced 8.45 p.m. Hungarian time.
UEFA also agreed to hold the match behind closed gates due to the exceptional circumstances, so the match will be played without any fans in attendance.
The host association took this decision 10 days before the match to avoid any unwanted incidents or potential atrocities. The MLSZ, while regretting the inconvenience caused to fans who have already bought tickets for the match, will of course arrange for their refunds. Even though the decision was not taken by the Hungarian FA, it offers its apologies to Hungarian fans planning to attend the match. Ticket holders will be contacted by e-mail shortly.
As we wrote earlier, the Hungarian national team could not secure a place at the EC in Lithuania, details HERE.
Also, we wrote about the Israeli national football team relocating matches to Hungary, details HERE.