Footballers

STARA PAZOVA - Kolubara Lazarevac are practically out of the Serbian football Superliga after being handed a nine-point deduction by the Football Association of Serbia (FSS) over match-fixing and damage to the integrity of matches, the FSS announced on Tuesday.

BELGRADE - Israeli coach Barak Bakhar signed a three-year contract with Serbian football powerhouse Red Star Belgrade on Friday.

In a statement published on its website, the club said it was delighted to announce that Bakhar was its new head coach and added that it hoped to achieve "great results" under his stewardship.

Bulgaria marks 120 years since the death of the great Bulgarian revolutionary Gotse Delchev. His memory will be honored with various events in the country. President Rumen Radev will participate in the celebrations in the town of Gotse Delchev.

Barcelona thrashed 10-man Real Betis 4-0 on April 29 night to move a step closer to winning La Liga for the first time since 2019.

Real Madrid beat Almeria 4-2 to cut the gap to eight points earlier on, but Barcelona triumphed to restore its 11 point advantage.

BELGRADE - Partizan and Red Star drew 0-0 in Serbian football's 170th Eternal Derby in the second round of the Superliga playoffs on Wednesday evening.

Panathinaikos and AEK scored precious away wins on Sunday and continue to lead the table at the halfway point of the Super League playoffs.

Panathinaikos emerged victorious from the super-tough challenge of Toumba, beating PAOK 2-1 in a game that had 16 minutes of time added-on at the end of the second half.

Olimpija of Ljubljana have won the national football championship five rounds before the end of the season after defeating arch-rival Maribor 2:0 on 17 April.

"Proud is probably the word for this group of players. I could not have asked for more before the season," coach Albert Riera said.

Bulgarian Football has fallen a long way since the peak of the national team that finished fourth in the 1994 World Cup powered by the goals of the outstanding Hristo Stoichkov, who finished the tournament as the golden boot winner with six strikes.

Jose Miguel Gonzalez resigned as coach of Olympiakos on Monday following a draw in the second round of the Greek playoffs. The former Real Madrid midfielder and Spain international known as Michel ended his second spell as manager of the Piraeus club after drawing with Aris 2-2 on Sunday.

The club named French assistant Jose Anigo as interim coach.

Ten-man Beşiktaş came from one goal behind to beat Fenerbahçe 4-2 in an Istanbul derby on April 2 night to cut the gap with its rival in the Turkish Süper Lig.

Fenerbahçe made a good start to the game, and Enner Valencia put the home side in the lead by successfully converting a penalty shot in the 41st minute.