On today's date – March 21, in 2010, one of the most unpleasant matches for CSKA in the new century took place – the visit of Lokomotiv Mezdra, which ended in an official loss with 0:4, writes "Tema sport".
The match is from the 19th round of “A” group, season 2009/10, when fans of the Reds invaded during the match in the northwestern city, and the home and away players, as well as the referees, went back to the locker rooms. These actions forced the referee Ivaylo Stoyanov to stop the match.
The first half was equal, the two teams did not create many scoring chances in front of Karadzhov and Linkov. The game developed mainly in the middle of the field. Several times Michel Paltini crossed sharply into the penalty area of Lokomotiv Mezdra, but there his teammates Daniel Panku and Elliot Grandin were unable to make accurate shots. The home team attacked mainly through Isa, who, however, did not hinder Karadzhov with his shots.
At half-time, Spas Delev appeared in the game for CSKA, replacing Petre. In the 52nd minute, Kostadin Stoyanov executed a good free kick, but Linkov struggled to clear it into a corner kick. Captain Todor Yanchev was forced to leave in the 60th minute, and Nikolay Manchev came in to replace him. In the 62nd minute, after a corner kick, the uncovered Isa headed the ball in and opened the scoring. Shortly after, some of the CSKA fans invaded the field and the main referee stopped the match.
The big problem was mainly due to the lack of police security at the stadium. The hosts had hired a private security company, which, however, failed to control the situation. However, in the 10th minute, police cars arrived at the stadium in Mezdra and controlled the passions. After that, the home and away fans were led out through different exits.
The BFU Disciplinary Committee made an official decision to punish CSKA with a three-match home game ban and a fine of 15,000 leva for the fans' invasion during the match.
The BFU Sports and Technical Committee awarded a 4:0 official victory to Lokomotiv Mezdra.
After this match, CSKA entered a crisis and drew three consecutive matches – 1:1 with Pirin (in Kyustendil), 0:0 with Levski and 1:1 with Montana (in Svoge), finishing 2nd at the end of the season, 12 points behind the champion Litex.