A European side was forced to issue a massive apology after having a minute's silence in memoriam for a former player who had passed away, but he was alive and well.
As a nice gesture to pay respect to players that used to represent the club, football teams across the world often hold a minute of silence before matches when a former player has passed away.
A Bulgarian football club did just this on Sunday, as they honoured former striker Petko Ganchev before their latest domestic league game.
Advert
If was a touching moment as fans and players come together to remember Ganchev, until the club realised he wasn't actually dead.
Ahead of their match in the top division against Levski Sofia, Bulgarian side Arda Kardzhali, who play in the southern Bulgarian town of Kardzhali, held the minute's silence to play respect to Ganchev.
Both teams lined up in the centre of the pitch and bowed their heads while fans stood in silence to respect the former striker, who played for the club for five years.
Advert
But before the game even finished, the club released a now-deleted official statement on their Facebook page apologising as they admitted that they had received wrong information about Ganchev's death.
As per BBC Sport, it read: "Dear journalists and fans of ARDA,
"The management of PFC ARDA would like to extend a sincere apology to former ARDA player Petko Ganchev and his family after the club received incorrect information about his passing.
"We wish Petko Ganchev many more years of health and joy as he continues to celebrate ARDA's successes."
Advert
In an interview with Bulgarian website BLITZ, Ganchev opened up about the incident and what really happened, revealing that he found it all very stressful.
"I was 10 minutes late [for kick-off] because I had a personal job. While driving home, my phone started ringing a lot," he said.
"I parked in front of our house, entered the yard and my wife greets me crying, shouting: 'Petko, Petko, they announced on TV that you have died!'
Advert
"I could not understand what she was telling me and what had happened. Then two of my friends called me.
"Look, sometimes such things happen, but the situation was not easy at all," said Ganchev.
"It is normal to spread a rumour here in the village, but they announced it in front of the whole football audience of Bulgaria.
"So many people called me - relatives, friends, acquaintances and not so big acquaintances. The situation was not pleasant, but in the end we have to be positive."
Advert
Arda went on to draw the match 1-1 leaving them fifth in re fifth the 16-team league, meaning they can can still claim a spot in European football next season.
Topics: Football
Ben McCrum