Leeds United’s Ilia Gruev finally breaks silence on his Bulgarian scandal

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Ilia Gruev’s first season in the Premier League has largely gone under the radar at Leeds United, starting twice and making four appearances in total under Daniel Farke.

But his start to the season with Bulgaria has been much more high-profile. It all started in September when Bulgaria faced Spain, the first of six World Cup qualifying matches with Georgia and Turkey.

Bulgaria were easily beaten, losing 3-0. Clips showed Gruev grappling with Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal. But reportedly, Gruev took aim at his teammates and then-manager Ilian Iliev after full-time.

Bulgarian media reported the incident as a ‘serious scandal’ in September, which led to Gruev being dropped for the second game in September. But he was reinstated by the president of the Bulgarian FA.

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Ilia Gruev breaks silence on ‘scandal’ with Bulgaria National Team

Leeds’ £4m signing was benched for the clash against Georgia, another 3-0 loss in September. He came on in the second half, before manager Iliev was sacked following the reports. Gruev retained his place.

He was called up to face Turkey and Spain during the October break, but despite being the only player in Bulgaria’s National Team to currently be in Europe’s top-five leagues, he was unused against Turkey.

Bulgaria suffered a 6-1 loss to Turkey last week, before Gruev was reinstated to the starting line-up on Tuesday night against Spain. Another heavy 4-0 loss, and Gruev spoke to TopSport after the match.

He broke his silence on the reported scandals surrounding the incident that supposedly happened back in September: “The results are not good; it must be said that we are in a very difficult group,” he said.

“I don’t know where these scandals come from. I didn’t play with Turkey. But I wanted to play; this is the coach’s decision that I have to accept. I was disappointed, but we are a team, we have to help each other.”

It is now 13 months since Gruev last won a Bulgaria game

The 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign has been gruesome for Gruev and Bulgaria. Four games, four defeats, 16 goals conceded. But it is what is currently expected from a Bulgarian side devoid of quality.

For Gruev himself, Tuesday night’s 4-0 loss to Spain is his seventh game in a row without a win for his country. His last win in a Bulgaria shirt, while playing, came in September 2024 against Northern Ireland.

Gruev’s last eight games for Bulgaria

Bulgaria has won more recently, while Gruev was injured during the 2024-25 season, another 1-0 win over Luxembourg. The run is likely to continue in November when Bulgaria face Turkey and Georgia.