Travel ban for CSKA coach ahead of Fulham game

CSKA Sofia coach Lyuboslav Penev will not be able to travel to England for his team’s Europa League match against Fulham, after a Bulgarian court refused on Tuesday to allow him out of the country.

The interior ministry banned Penev from leaving Bulgaria on November 6 following a demand by the country’s CIBank, which said Penev had a defaulted credit of 2.3 million leva (1.2 million euros, 1.8 million dollars), Burgas court spokeswoman Veselina Pavlova explained.

Penev had sought the “immediate lifting” of the ban, claiming that it prevented him from “accomplishing his working contract obligations” but the Burgas court rejected his demand.

The ban will remain in place for at least another month, when the court will hear Penev’s appeal, Pavlova said.

Prosecutors meanwhile estimated that Penev stood a fair chance of winning on appeal as the credit was guaranteed with property.

CSKA Sofia play Fulham in their Group E match in London on Thursday.