Jewish hackles were raised in Bulgaria following the photo published by the Levski Sofia soccer club in the announcement of the signing of ex-Maccabi Haifa player Giorgi Kostadinov, in which a sign appeared with the inscription "No Jews allowed." The midfielder, who played in Israel in the 2017/18 season and has 44 appearances for the Bulgarian national team, was photographed in the team's museum alongside the club's CEO, former player Daniel Borimirov,while receiving the team's jersey, and the sign appeared in the background of the photo.
The image caused a storm on social media, and the team subsequently released a three-minute video explaining that the sign was part of the club's history and not a call for antisemitism, and that Levski Sofia even received praise from the Jewish community for disobeying it.
In the video, one of the museum's creators, Ilya Hristov, explained that "this is a sign that was placed in public places in the early 1940s, following the 'Law for the Protection of the Nation' enacted at that time, which prohibited the participation of people of Jewish origin in sports and public organizations. The Levski Sports Club opposed this and did not obey the law.
Later, after the coup of September 9, 1944, the Jewish community in Bulgaria expressed its gratitude to the Levski Sports Club with a silver plaque with a Star of David (in the video, the club displays the plaque in question, located next to the sign). Yesterday there was simply a misunderstanding, because the plaque in question was not visible."
(The video explaining the antisemitic sign)
The team also stated that "Levski Football Club apologizes for the misunderstanding that occurred, and if there are still people who were hurt, we invite them to the club's exhibition, where they can get a broader picture of the events."
Levski Sofia is one of the two biggest teams in Bulgaria. It has won 26 championships, surpassed only by its city rival CSKA Sofia, with 31.