Regarding Stanka Zlateva's statement from today, October 5, 2026, the legitimate leadership of BOC came out with a response.
Here is the position of BOC:
"The claims in the complaint of Ms. Stanka Zlateva that she was suspended from participating in the General Assembly of BOC on March 19, 2025 as the chairwoman of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation do not correspond to the truth. We remind you that the decision to participate is made by the Mandate Commission, in which the majority at that time was held by the old leadership. The Mandate Commission took into account only the information from the Registry Agency. We also attach a photo from the register, which makes it clear that Ms. Zlateva was entered as chairperson on March 20, 2025, or the day after the General Assembly of the Bulgarian Football Union.
Regarding the withdrawal of the claim:
Stanka Zlateva has personally and expressly authorized attorney Nikolay Dimitrov from the Bulgarian Bar Association to represent the Bulgarian Stock Exchange Association under TD 697/2025 in the inventory of the Bulgarian Court of Justice, and has also granted him the right to waive the claims of the plaintiff association.
On April 28, 2026, attorney Dimitrov filed an electronic application to the Bulgarian Court of Justice to withdraw the claim, signed with his electronic signature. Based on the submitted application and the presented power of attorney, the Sofia City Court, by a ruling dated April 30, 2026, terminated the proceedings in the case.
The legitimate leadership of the BOC has no relation to the procedural action taken. The termination ruling has not been appealed and has entered into force.
In conclusion, we perceive the statement of Ms. Stanka Zlateva as a new attempt to continue the shameful saga and negative campaign against the Bulgarian Olympic Committee. We also recall that there is criminal liability for cheating and the BOC leadership expects a public apology."
Earlier today, the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation issued the following press release:
"The Board of Directors of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation dismissed Belcho Goranov as Secretary General and referred the matter to the prosecutor's office for the actions surrounding the case for the election of the BOC Chairman.
At a meeting held on October 5, 2026, the Board of Directors (Board) of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation (BF Wrestling) decided to dismiss Belcho Goranov from the position of Secretary General of the BF Wrestling. The decision was made at the proposal of the president of the federation Stanka Zlateva.
The Board of Directors of the Bulgarian Federation of Wrestling also decided to withdraw Belcho Goranov's candidacy for a member of the governing bodies of the International World Wrestling Organization (UWW).
As a motive for her proposal, Stanka Zlateva indicated actions related to the withdrawal of the complaint of the Bulgarian Federation of Wrestling against the election of Vessela Lecheva as president of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee. Zlateva stated that she personally signed the complaint against the election of Lecheva because Hristo Marinov, who voted on behalf of the Bulgarian Federation of Wrestling, was promptly dismissed from office and responsibility as president of the federation by its General Assembly and did not have the right to represent it. "I have never signed a document withdrawing the complaint and have not authorized anyone to commit such documentary crimes, despite the insistent requests from Mr. Belcho Goranov and Ms. Vessela Lecheva", Stanka Zlateva was categorical in front of the members of the Board.
On this occasion, the Board of the Bulgarian Federation of Wrestling decided to refer the actions of Belcho Goranov, Danail Dimov and Vessela Lecheva to the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office for verification of the actions of Belcho Goranov, Danail Dimov and Vessela Lecheva, related to the termination of the legal dispute regarding the election of the chairman of the BOK and the subsequent registration of Vessela Lecheva as the chairman of the organization.
BF Wrestling will provide the prosecutor's office with all documents and information at its disposal in order to clarify the circumstances surrounding the actions of the aforementioned persons.
The chairman of the Bulgarian Federation of Wrestling was categorical that what is happening around the BOK cannot be considered separately from the processes in Bulgarian wrestling and the attempts to change the course that the federation has been on since 2025.
"This case is directly related to what is currently happening in Bulgarian wrestling and the attempt at division serves economic and political interests", Stanka Zlateva also emphasized.
The Board of Directors of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation states that it will continue to protect the interests of the federation and its clubs and will provide full cooperation to the competent institutions to clarify all circumstances of the case."