A top Bulgarian soccer team, Arda Kardzhali, has issued an apology after mistakenly holding a minute’s silence before a match for former player Petko Ganchev, who is, in fact, alive.
Prior to the game against Levski Sofia in Bulgaria’s First League on Sunday, players from both teams gathered near the center of the field to honor Ganchev, under the erroneous belief that he had passed away.
However, as the match continued, Arda released a statement on Facebook to clarify the situation and apologize to Ganchev, stating they had “received wrong information about his death.”
“The management of PFC Arda would like to express a huge apology to the former Arda player Petko Ganchev and his relatives after the club received wrong information about his death,” the statement read. “We wish Petko Ganchev many more years of good health and to enjoy the success of Arda.”
The match ended in a 1-1 draw. In the aftermath of the incident, Ganchev spoke to Bulgarian media about discovering the mix-up through his family.
“I don’t miss a chance to watch Arda matches on TV. I was late by about 10 minutes due to some work,” Ganchev told the Bulgarian news outlet Blitz. “While I was driving home, my phone started ringing a lot, but I didn’t want to answer while driving.
“Upon arriving home, my wife greeted me in tears. She exclaimed, ‘Petko, Petko, they announced on television that you had passed!’ I was bewildered and needed clarification. She told me they had called her to inform her of what was reported ahead of the match.”
He described the experience as “very stressful,” but emphasized the importance of staying positive about the situation. “Truthfully, it was not pleasant, but at the end of the day, we must remain upbeat. When I heard the awful news, I treated myself to a small brandy,” Ganchev said with a smile.
Credit: CNN Sports
