Bulgaria PM Borisov Fumes at Madonna as Pitch Battle Rages

Bulgaria's prime minister has lashed out at sports officials after the grass of the Vasil Levski national stadium was severely damaged during a concert given by pop diva Madonna.

A verbatim report from the government's latest meeting on Wednesday shows Prime Minister Boyko Borisov angrily turning on Sports Minister Svilen Neykov for allowing last Saturday's Madonna's gig to take place on the stadium just a week before Bulgaria face Montenegro in a crucial World Cup qualifier.

"Even though we could not possibly cancel the concert, it is our obligation to preserve and protect the national stadium," Borisov fumed, according to the report.

He has ordered that a commission is quickly set up to assess the damages and force the concert's organizers to get the pitch back to its normal condition at their own expenses.

Reports say the rent organizers paid to stadium officials for staging Madonna gig there were ten times higher that the money they get for football matches.

The grass has been badly damaged by tens of thousands of fans at the pop queen Madonna's concert and cannot be recovered despite an intense watering and fertilising, officials said.

Bulgaria will play against the former Yugoslav republic in a Group Eight qualifier at the 44,000-capacity venue on Saturday. The team ranks third in the standings on eight points from six matches.