The best Bulgarian referee Ivaylo Ivanov received an appointment for the men's semi-final France - Italy from the program of the Paris Olympics. He will be the second referee in the match. For seven consecutive days, Ivanov has not missed a day without a match. The most attractive of them was Italy's dramatic qualification after a 3:2 win over Japan, when he was the first referee and received a very high rating.

Ivanov is among the most highly-rated referees in world volleyball.