Extremely minimal chances of a Levski Sofia vs Ħamrun Spartans replay, says Serbian UEFA delegate

The possibilities of a replay of the third qualifying round second leg tie between Levski Sofia and Ħamrun Spartans are extremely minimal, according to a UEFA delegate.

Levski Sofia filed a complaint to UEFA against the result of their Conference League defeat to Ħamrun Spartans after the referee failed to spot a Maltese player’s infringement before scoring a crucial goal. 

Reports said on Saturday that the Bulgarian side had filed a complaint to the European governing body UEFA over the Spartans’ second goal scored by Ryan Camenzuli.

Levski are contending that Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs had committed a technical error when after the Bulgarian side score their equaliser, he failed to spot that Dodo had run beyond the half way line before play resumed before the kick-off.

“Yes, there is a violation of Rule 8, which explains how a kick-off should be taken at the start of each half or after a goal,” Igor Radojic, who is also the secretary of the refereeing committee of the Serbian FA, told Serbian publication Alo.rs.

“This should have been noticed by the head referee, his assistants or the fourth official.

I understand Levski’s reasons for filing an appeal, but that will not be enough to call for a new match. The violation of the rule is not like that.”

The Bulgarian side are urging UEFA to follow its rules and order the match to be replayed since a technical error has been committed by Kovacs.

Sources have told the Times of Malta that Levski Sofia officials were unaware of the incident after the match and only discovered the incident on Friday.

It is understood that when the Bulgarian side lodged the complaint, the UEFA referee observer contacted the Romanian referee on Saturday, informing him about the incident.

“Replay could have occurred if a goal was directly scored from an indirect free-kick without the touch of a second person or with 12 players on the field,” explained Radojcic.

Club sources have confirmed to the Times of Malta that the appeal is set to be heard on Tuesday in front of the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Board, with a ruling set to be issued on the same day.