Manager "Knocked Out" By Snowball To Head, Rival Fans Call Bullshit

Of all the things soccer fans have been known to chuck at opposing players—coins, batteries, bags of urine, flares—snowballs are probably the tamest. So we're not too pleased to hear CSKA Sofia manager claim he was knocked unconscious when a Levski Sofia fan pelted him in the back of the head with one.

The video above is from this weekend's derby between the two Bulgarian clubs. The home Levski fans can be seen raining snowballs upon the CSKA bench, with one in particular popping manager Stoycho Mladenov in the back of the head. It takes a minute for it to register, but once it does, Mladenov makes his way to the ground, apparently in pain.

Vladimir Vladimirov, leader of the Levski fan club, wasn't buying that a little ol' snowball could bring a grown man to his knees:

"Children play with snowballs but I haven't heard of anyone who has collapsed. [...] It was disgusting to watch, his over-acting was so poor."

On one hand, the projectile does travel a ways to meet the manager's head, so it is possible that this one had a rock at the center or was more ice than snow. On the other, Mladenov doesn't react as immediately as you'd imagine if someone just skulled you with a rock.

We're siding with Levski. Mladenov should be glad it wasn't a quarter or a AA battery, or even a yellow snowball for that matter.

[ BBC Sport]