Sometimes, sport fans get so heated up in the stands, their disrespect doesn’t spare even the best of the best. Throw in a game that will gift the winner with the competition’s number 1 seed, and you may have a recipe for disaster.
Georgi Bratoev, one of the best Bulgarian setter ever, winner of the 2012 World League and Olympic Games best setter awards, had to go through a horrible ordeal in his team’s win against Balkanstroy Pirin in the Bulgarian league this week. The game, which was at Pirin’s home, got fans so crazy, that they started spitting on the players and throwing coins at them. Here is what Bratoev said of the ordeal, according to Sportal.bg:
“Being sweared at is understandable, as we are in their home gym and these are passionate fans. However, I can not accept any Bulgarian volleyball players getting spit on and getting pennies thrown at them. The fact that many of Bulgarian arenas do not meet international requirements is worrisome, something must be done. When the audience is an inch away from you, you feel uncomfortable because they are violent.”
It is expected that Bulgarian authorities will look at this incident with zeal, as violent behavior from crowds like this are usually dealth with rigor by the CEV. Bratoev’s Neftohimic Burgas currently leads the Bulgarian SuperLeague with a 12-3 record, while Balkanstroy Pirin is in 4th place with an 11-4 record.
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