Levski Sofia advances to Champions League third qualifying round

Levski Sofia Universitatea Craiova Champions League qualifying aggregate win dressing‑room altercation

Levski Sofia faced Universitatea Craiova in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League second‑qualifying round on 29 July 2026 at the Ion Oblemenco Stadium in Craiova. The match ended 2‑2, giving Levski a 3‑2 aggregate win and a place in the competition’s third‑qualifying round. The Bulgarian side had won the first leg 1‑0 in Sofia.

Levski coach Julio Velazquez hailed the result, saying he was “proud and happy” for the club and its fans worldwide. UEFA had banned Levski supporters from attending the match, so the stands were empty.

After the game, Bulgarian media reported a dressing‑room incident involving Levski player Serginho and Universitatea Craiova sporting director Mario Felgueiras. Romanian outlets highlighted the financial impact on Craiova, estimating a loss of more than €20 million in missed Champions League revenue. Levski will next meet Kairat Almaty, while Craiova drops into the Europa League third‑qualifying round against Finnish side KuPS Kuopio.

Entities: Adrian Rus · Filipe Coelho · Ion Oblemenco Stadium · Julio Velásquez · Julio Velázquez · Kairat Almaty · KuPS · KuPS Kuopio · Levski Sofia · Levski Sofia · PFC Levski Sofia · UEFA

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[○ 1 SOURCE] If eliminated from the Champions League, Universitatea Craiova will enter the Europa League third qualifying round and face Finnish side KuPS Kuopio. (article badc7d6f)
[● 3 SOURCES] Levski Sofia won the first leg 1‑0 in Sofia, with Kristian Dimitrov scoring the only goal. (existing)
[● 2 SOURCES] UEFA sanctioned Levski Sofia, prohibiting its supporters from attending the away match in Craiova due to racist incidents by its fans in a previous game. (articles 10615bf2 and 09409765)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Around 11,000 regular tickets and 11,000 season tickets have been sold for the Craiova‑Levski match, with hopes to reach about 25,000 spectators in a 31,000‑capacity stadium. (article 10615bf2)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Universitatea Craiova captain Adrian Rus described a ‘perfect scenario’ for himself if he scores the winning goal in the return match. (article 249ba5cc)
[● 4 SOURCES] UEFA prohibited Levski Sofia supporters from attending the match, leading Universitatea Craiova to cancel about 300 tickets bought by those supporters (multiple sources)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The second leg is scheduled for Wednesday at 20:30 at Ion Oblemenco stadium in Craiova and will be broadcast live on Digi Sport. (article 10615bf2)
[● 3 SOURCES] Oleksander Romanchuk suffered a muscle rupture and will miss the match; forward Assad Al‑Hamlawi is also unavailable (multiple sources)
[● 4 SOURCES] The second leg between Universitatea Craiova and Levski Sofia is scheduled for 29 July 2026 at 20:30 CET at Ion Oblemenco Stadium in Craiova. (b377e536-e3d4-4f03-86f0-0f3bc4d53388, 19ebf6aa-e56e-41eb-b69c-7080b6bf3fef, 4a045160-3e02-4989-9ebd-f332e356bdaf, e9284a)
[● 5 SOURCES] The match will be broadcast live on Digi Sport 1 and Prima Sport 1 in Romania, and also on Canala 11 in Portugal (multiple sources)
[● 2 SOURCES] Coach Filipe Coelho said the team must control emotions and aim to overturn the 1‑0 deficit (multiple sources)
[● 3 SOURCES] Supporters of Universitatea Craiova set off fireworks and made noise outside the hotel where Levski Sofia players were staying the night before the match (multiple sources)