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Angry Levski Sofia fans interrupt new manager’s first press conference to take his shirt off him

Dirty Tackle

In one of the most bizarre introductory press conferences ever, Levski Sofia's new manager, Ivaylo Petev was stripped shirtless by angry ultras who barged in to express their distrust of him. Unsure how to handle a group of strange men taking the clothes off his back, Petev didn't offer much resistance (skip ahead to 1:00 into the video) and eventually walked out of the room topless.

From Reuters:

Petev, 38, is considered to be one of the best young coaches in the Balkan country after leading Ludogorets to back-to-back league titles but Levski fans believe he is a supporter of bitter city rivals CSKA Sofia.

Several dozen hostile fans burst in shortly after the start of Petev's first news conference at the Georgi Asparuhov stadium, shouting: "You're not welcome here. Get up, undress the shirt and go. Levski will not play under you as coach."

With no security officials present, the fans then ushered Petev out of the news conference before confronting shocked Levski chief executive Nasko Sirakov - a crowd favourite and the club's all-time leading scorer with 206 goals between 1981 and 1994.

Levski's owner said the incident was "a stain on our club," but said that Petev was not going anywhere and would remain the team's new manager. But if the club doesn't hire a security force, Petev might want to.

Video via KCKRS