Bulgarian Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski confirmed the report that Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's amateur football team has been flying around on the government's Airbus.

On Wednesday, the local Pressa daily revealed that Borisov's lower-tier team Vitosha Bistritsa (affectionately referred to as "the Tigers" by the PM) was flown to the Black Sea city of Varna on the government aircraft to play a friendly football game.

The adversary – the Chavdar team from the town of Etropole near Sofia - was on the same flight.

"As you all know, the government aircraft has been used for humanitarian needs on many occasions. It has also been used many times for the transportation of various football and sports teams," Moskovski claimed in an interview for the TV7 channel on Wednesday.

The Minister assured that the flight was "100% paid for" in an "absolutely legal way."

"Each and every football team has its own budget for pre-season training and each team can where it would play," he pointed out.

The controversial lavish sports trip allegedly followed a cards game which Borisov lost to Emil Dimitrov, an MP from his ruling, center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party. Dimitrov is from the area of Etropole, and is an honorary president of the Chavdar team.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister has been often criticized for spending too much time on football.

Borisov, who coached the national karate team before attacking politics, became Prime Minister in 2009 but continues to play regularly with his team Vitosha Bistritsa in an amateur football league.