Viden Natsev Sr. raised an alarm on social media about the second installment of the "Natsev" scandal, which erupted in 2023. This time, the target is the younger son, Krasimir Natsev.
The 14-year-old Natsev has been living and training in France for 6 months, where his parents and brother Viden reside. Viden was part of the French national team that became European champions in Sofia last year. Krasimir is 50% in France and Bulgaria, and in France, he won the French Cup with the Nimes Volleyball team. The younger son Natsev was accepted in France toPôle Espoirs Volley-ball Masculin- a structure of the French Volleyball Federation, and will begin his training there at the end of August 2024. He lives with his brother at CREPS Montpellier, where the French Volleyball Federation teams conduct centralized training. Since the end of August, he has been called twice for training camps with the French national U16 team and participated in friendly matches with the Polish team.
According to Viden Natsev Sr., without Krasimir's knowledge and without his parents' consent (as he is a minor), he was included in the rosters of the Bulgarian national U16 youth team, even though he chose to compete for France. Natsev Sr. claims that coach Svetlozar Ivanov has never seen Krasimir Natsev and is puzzled as to how he decided to include him in the team.
On December 27, 2024, the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation (BVF) notified FIVB about a double license for the player Krasimir Natsev, as he is listed in both the Bulgarian team and, by his will, the French team.
Without his knowledge or his parents', he found himself on two national teams at the same time. "He broke his brother Viden's 'record', who was included in two national teams within a week," their father explains with dark humor. Krasimir's competitive rights have been suspended until FIVB makes a decision.
This prevented Natsev Jr. from participating in the WEVZA tournament, which began on January 11 in Avignon, France. The tournament is a preparatory stage for the second round, scheduled for April, which will provide a quota for the European Championship in this age category, planned from July 23 to August 3 in Yerevan (Armenia).
On December 28, the captain of the French team informed Natsev Jr. that he would not play for the team until the competent authorities made a decision.
On January 15, 2025, FIVB issued a decision, giving Krasimir carte blanche to compete under the French flag.
The international VIS number is in Krasimir's name, and his sports nationality is France. His brother Viden received a similar decision on June 15, 2023.
A letter was also sent to the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation (BVF) by the new-old president of the French Volleyball Federation, Eric Tanguy, who informed Lyubomir Ganev that this case is clear, the parents have made their decision, and if there are any claims, they should be directed to FIVB (the same is noted in the letter from FIVB - "An appeal against this decision may only be filed with the FIVB Appeals Panel, in accordance with the FIVB Disciplinary Regulations (available at:http://www.fivb.org/EN/FIVB/Legal.asp)."
Tanguy also attached the parents' letter, which they had made at the beginning of November, to declare Krasimir's wish and choice to represent only and exclusively France, as well as a declaration that they had not been contacted by the BVF.
"As a family, we will take all possible legal actions – in court, with the Commission for Personal Data Protection, in Bulgaria and France. Our children are not tools for selfish purposes. We will notify the FIVB ethics committee, as well as take all legal actions to protect our interests," Natsev Sr. wrote in his Facebook post.
