This should make Thursday night interesting.

CSKA Sofia coach Lyuboslav Penev will miss his team’s Europa League match at Fulham this week because a Bulgarian court upheld his travel ban over unpaid bank loans.

Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry had banned Penev from leaving the country for failing to settle a £1.1m debt owed to the local Corporate Investment Bank.

On Tuesday, a court in the city of Burgas ruled against Penev’s appeal, saying it was ‘lacking any substance.’

CSKA Sofia will play Thursday at Fulham with no prospect of qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition.

FC Basel are at the top of Group E with nine points, followed by AS Roma with seven and Fulham with five. CSKA Sofia has only one point