2024-02-14 14:41:45
Five Bulgarian volleyball referees will officiate matches at the highest level in European club tournaments this season.
The final clash in the “Challenge Cup” for men between the Polish “Project Warsaw” and the Italian “Monza” will be with the participation of our elite referee Ivaylo Ivanov. He has been appointed as the second arbitrator in the first meeting, which is scheduled for February 21. The second leg is a week later.
Ivanov, who is mostly seen in the matches of the most prestigious club tournament on the Old Continent – the Champions League, is included in the final of the “Challenge Cup” in another role. He is one of the mentors in the new program of the Referees Commission of the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) for the development of young and promising volleyball referees.
Native referees also received uniforms for the first and second most powerful European club tournament – the Champions League and the CEV Cup.
Ivaylo Ivanov, Aleksandar Vinaliev, Konstantin Yovchev and Dobromir Dobrev will lead matches from the quarter-final and semi-final phases of the Champions League.
Dobrev will be the first judge of the quarter-final between “Halbank” and “Lube”. The Italian club, in which the Bulgarian national player Alexander Nikolov also plays, visits Turkish soil on February 21.
Ivaylo Ivanov and Alexander Vinaliyev will perform in the first semi-final matches of the men’s Champions League.
Ivanov is ready for the match between the winners of the following two quarter-finals: Trentino – BR Volleys and Lube Chivatanova – Halbank. Vinaliyev will lead the meeting between the qualified teams from Piacenza – Yastzembski and Ziraat Bankasu – Guaguas. Both will be first judges.
Konstantin Yovchev will be the first judge of the women’s semi-final clash in the Champions League, which awaits the quarter-finalists Conelliano (Italy)/Vakfbank (Turkey) and Scandici (Italy)/Ekzadzbaşu (Turkey).
Semi-final of the second strongest European club tournament – the CEV Cup, will be led by Atanas Varbanov. The Bulgarian international referee is the first judge of the meeting between the Turkish Arkasspor and the German Lüneburg. The match will be held in the Atatürk Hall in Izmir on February 21 at 6:00 p.m.