Bulgarian football club president Iliyan Filipov is shot dead at his home in Plovdiv

Fatal shooting in Plovdiv

Bulgarian businessman Iliyan Filipov, the 53-year-old president of top-tier football club Botev Plovdiv, was shot dead early on Wednesday, 30 September 2026. The incident occurred around 1:00 a.m. local time on a property he owned in Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second-largest city located roughly 150 kilometres from the capital, Sofia. Emergency services received a call reporting gunfire, after which arriving police officers confirmed Filipov had died from a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Local authorities dismissed initial media reports claiming that the victim's wife made the emergency call.

Plovdiv Police Director Vasil Kostadinov clarified the initial findings while addressing the response at the scene.

The alert was made to 112, and the crime was committed on the territory of a property owned by the victim. At this moment, we do not have data regarding the existence of threats.

Police cordon and search for suspects

Investigators cordoned off the entire neighbourhood within minutes of arriving at the crime scene, deploying tracking dogs and establishing an operational command centre. Officers went door to door to interview residents and reviewed footage from surveillance cameras installed throughout the vicinity. Another resident, Yordanka Georgieva, noted arriving at work to find closed streets and anxious onlookers as forensic teams searched the area. For more than 12 hours, a heavy police presence blocked access routes to the residential complex, while law enforcement set up checkpoints at all exits from Plovdiv to inspect suspicious vehicles.

Plovdiv District Prosecutor Vanya Hristova confirmed that authorities opened pre-trial proceedings into premeditated murder using a firearm.

We are actively pursuing all possible leads.

Commercial interests and municipal disputes

Filipov was the founder and primary executive of PIMK, one of Bulgaria's largest transport and logistics corporations, which had expanded into civil construction. Police announced that they will question individuals with whom Filipov had active disagreements, including other local business figures following public disputes on social media. Filipov had also engaged in a conflict with Plovdiv Mayor Kostadin Dimitrov over delays in issuing municipal permits for the final construction stage of the Hristo Botev Stadium, locally known as Kolezha. The residential complex where the shooting took place belonged to his corporate holdings, and investigators are reviewing his recent commercial transactions.

Local resident Bozhidar Chergarov described waking to unusual sounds during the night before officers arrived in the building.

I just found out that this man, the owner of the complex, was killed and I know nothing else. It is the first time I hear about him, I am shaking all over. I heard a noise, I told the police. I just found out that he was killed at our entrance; I passed by there and everything smelled of blood.

Football leadership and national reaction

Filipov took control of Botev Plovdiv in the summer of 2025 during a severe financial crisis, quickly reducing an accumulated deficit of 3.5 million euros. His tenure brought stability to the club, whose squad includes Portuguese footballers Carlos Meotti and Henrique Jocu. In an official statement, club representatives praised his commitment to saving the organisation from insolvency during the 2025 restructuring. The violent killing occurred during a heated national presidential election campaign, recalling public assassinations that were frequent across Bulgaria in the 1990s.