He got caught betting from the VAR room, suspended official

On Wednesday, at the Bulgarian elite championship, CSKA Sofia played Lokomotive Sofia at the Vasil Levski Stadium and won 1-0 after a goal by Olaus Skarsem.

But the match caused major controversy following an incident with one of the VAR operators. Before the match, TV coverage cameras captured the official on his phone for a few seconds before they removed him, writes Telegrafi, broadcast Periscope.

Although the exact content was not visible, the official, who was close to two other colleagues in the room, seemed to be looking at a soccer bet app on his mobile device and viewers were amazed to see him directly, making the clip become viral on social networks.

Hawk-Eye Innovations, who control the VAR system at the highest level of Bulgarian football, moved quickly to suspend employee “from any activity” while they investigate behavior.

The company wrote a letter to the Bulgarian Football Union to inform them of the situation, saying: “Hawk-Eye Innovations regrets an incident involving one of its VAR operators during the match between CSKA Sofia and Lokomovative Sofia last night (2 April 2025)”.

“Direct interfaces from the camera situation in the VAR operating room documented the individual using a personal smartphone during the match and appeared to be involved in inappropriate activities that would constitute improper behavior regarding the responsibilities of the particular role”.

They said that if an investigation reveals that if employee “was found to have been involved in such an inappropriate activity”, they would require “to download the individual in line with their contractual terms”.

Hawk-Eye Innovations, based in Basingstock and part of the Sony Sports Innovations Group, has been a partner of the Bulgarian Football Union for several years and hopes this isolated incident will not affect their labour relations.

They confirmed that employees were forbidden to bet while in a trusted and involved position.