Bank of Valletta Premier League leaders Birkirkara are searching for a replacement for Bulgarian defender Emil Yanchev who walked out on the club last week.

Yanchev, 34, left Malta for Cyprus where he will be playing for a club in a league which is not recognised by FIFA and UEFA. Together with Dane Ronnie Hartvig, he had formed a strong duo in the heart of the Birkirkara defence, conceding only six goals in the club’s first seven matches.

Stripes chairman Victor Zammit told The Malta Independent yesterday that they still intended to report the incident to the MFA, UEFA and FIFA.

He added: “This has been a big upset for the club, especially the coach, John Buttigieg, who has worked hard on making the defence our strongest department. In fact, we have conceded the least number of goals (same as Floriana) among the Premier League clubs.”

Zammit said the club had several options, but made it clear they would be seeking the services of a foreigner at this stage. “A local boy would only be available in the January window. We want a replacement for Yanchev immediately. We have already had some approaches from some agents and we are hoping to find a suitable replacement before or just after our next match against Marsaxlokk on 16 November,” he stated.

Birkirkara lead the standings with 16 points from seven matches. They are followed by Hibernians on 13, Sliema and Floriana on 12, Valletta and Msida on 10 points, but Valletta have a match in hand.