Levski Sofia's Zé Soares, for bizarre reasons, did not play in his club's weekend derby
One of the biggest rivalries on all the Balkans, the last installment of the Sofia derby between Bulgarian champions Levski Sofia and the most successful club in league history, CSKA Sofia, saw Russian champions Rubin Kazan unintentionally play a decisive role.
Well, possibly. Something does not add up, but it is being reported by multiple sources.
An international source as well as this Brazilian one (amongst many others) are reporting Levski Sofia – who have struggled out-of-the-gate in the Bulgarian league, pulled four of their better players from Sunday’s XI ahead of finalizing negotiations for their sale to Rubin. The four players went to Moscow, where they were to meet with a Rubin official and have medicals ahead of finalizing the agreements.
When the players and club representatives arrived in Moscow, they were met by a man who advertised himself as a Rubin representative. After some discussions, the man left ahead of a change in location in accordance with physical examinations. When the man did not return, Levski representatives called Rubin.
Rubin had no knowledge of the negotiations.
Speculation is that Levski was the target of an elaborate mob plan to defraud the club of money. Either that, or it was just about getting the players out of a derby match. It could also be about gambling. There are a lot of theories.
Whether Levski actually lost any money, nobody has said, and the club is unlikely to confirm. The only reason this story is coming out? Levski lost 2-0 to CSKA this weekend and, without their best players, looked poor in doing so.
Bulgarian officials and Interpol are investigating, but Levski is being roasted in the Bulgarian press, and rightfully so. Transfer windows are closed, right now. Pulling players from matches, this far ahead of the window? And how much money were they being “offered” that Levski would fly these players from their mid-week, Europa responsibilities to Moscow and miss their biggest derby?
Even though it’s being reported in two places, I don’t honestly believe this story.
From a Russian football fan’s point of view, it’s an interesting note: Rubin is good enough to effect two domestic competitions, simultaneously.
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