Champions League hopefuls Levski Sofia have begun their Bulgarian premier league campaign with a win over newcomers PSFC Chernomorets Bourgas without stepping onto the pitch.
Champions Levski were awarded a 3-0 win over the promoted club by the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) on Tuesday night after Chernomorets had not adhered to league rules and their season-opener, scheduled for Saturday, was postponed.
Chernomorets had been threatened with expulsion from the league but have managed to correct their squad documentation in time to avoid relegation to the Bulgarian amateur league.
Their premier league debut was postponed because they failed to register a league requirement of five under-21 players from their youth academies as professionals.
They were also ordered to start their league campaign on minus three points and have fined 1,000 levs ($657) by the Bulgarian football authorities.
