"Shameful, disgrace" - Big decision taken on Leeds United man amid international hammering

Leeds United midfielder Ilia Gruev was the subject of a big decision amid an international hammering for Bulgaria on Saturday night.

Gruev is one of eight Leeds players away on senior international duty but new Bulgaria boss Aleksandar Dimitrov firstly took the decision to name the experienced Whites midfielder on his bench for his first game in charge.

Bulgaria took on Turkey in a World Cup qualifier and Dimitrov went with a centre midfield axis of Slavia Sofia’s Kristiyan Stoyanov and Hapoel Tev Aviv’s Andrian Kraev as Gruev sat on the bench.

Turkey went ahead with just 11 minutes on the clock through Real Madrid’s Arda Guler only for Bulgaria to equalise just two minutes later through Levski Sofia’s Radoslav Kirilov.

Hosts 5-1 down after 65 minutes

The two sides went into the interval all square at one apiece but the second half proved a nightmare for the hosts who suddenly found themselves 5-1 down with just 65 minutes on the clock.

By then, former under-21s boss Dimitrov had began to ring the changes yet Gruev remained on bench and ultimately played no part in an eventual 6-1 defeat. Midfielders Stoyanov and Kraev both played the full game.

As picked up by Turkey and Middle East news outlet Haberler, the performance and defeat was slammed by Bulgarian media with the loss labelled “shameful” and a “disgrace”.

The hammering has left Bulgaria bottom of their group, without a single point from their three games played and with any realistic hopes of qualifying for the World Cup already looking dashed.