Botev Plovdiv President Iliyan Filipov Fatally Shot

Iliyan Filipov, the president and majority shareholder of Bulgarian football club Botev Plovdiv, was fatally shot in Plovdiv early Wednesday, prompting an investigation by police and prosecutors. He was 53. The Bulgarian interior ministry said it received a report at about 1 a.m. that a man had been shot at an address in the city. His death was confirmed at the scene, and an investigation was launched. Police chief Vasil Kostadinov said officers had responded to a report of a person injured by gunfire and found Filipov dead. Authorities have not disclosed a motive or identified a suspect. Plovdiv District Prosecutor Vanya Hristeva said investigators were pursuing all possible leads. Police were examining the scene, and reports said access points to the area had been restricted during the investigation. Filipov was also a prominent businessman associated with PIMK, a major Bulgarian transport and logistics company. He was a leading figure at Botev Plovdiv, a top-flight club in Bulgaria’s second-largest city. The circumstances of the shooting have not been publicly established beyond the initial accounts from authorities.