(Reuters) – The goalkeeper of Slavia Sofia, Georgi Petkov, has broken the record for the oldest player to appear in the Bulgarian top flight once again. This happened when he came on as a substitute in Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Hebar Pazardzhik. Petkov, who played for Bulgaria between 1998 and 2018, came on in stoppage time to set the record at the age of 47.
During his brief appearance, the veteran goalkeeper even saved a penalty and celebrated with his teammates with a shushing gesture. However, the VAR requested the penalty to be retaken as Petkov was not on his line. In the 98th minute, Georgi Valchev took the second chance and scored the winning goal.
“Petkov is a very experienced and cunning goalkeeper. I’m glad that even on the second time, I managed to outsmart him,” Valchev said, as quoted by Top Sport. He added, “It’s no coincidence that he has been in football for so many years. A big ‘bravo’!”
In August 2018, Petkov had previously set the record for the oldest player in the Bulgarian top flight. He achieved this milestone during a 0-0 draw with champions Ludogorets, where he also earned the man-of-the-match performance.
Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon
