As part of the preparation for an EHF EURO event, all referee pairs must conduct mandatory conditioning training and fitness assessment.
This process is designed to ensure the referees’ physical readiness and alignment with the tournament’s performance standards.
It includes the upload of two video recordings of a so-called “Multistage Fitness Test”, one from eight weeks and one from four weeks prior to the EHF EURO. These videos are evaluated by the EHF’s fitness partner, Fitgood Pro.
Following the submission of the recordings by Nikolov and Nachevski, the European Handball Federation was notified at the end of December that the videos submitted by the two referees may have been altered and may not represent an accurate recording of the entire test.
The EHF subsequently had the material further analysed by the experts of Fitgood Pro and handed the footage over to its integrity partner, Sportradar.
The in-depth analysis revealed evidence that there is a high likelihood that the videos have been manipulated.
In the light of the evidence at hand and to protect the integrity of the Men’s EHF EURO 2026, the European Handball Federation – after internal consultation with the EHF EURO 2026 tournament management – decided to withdraw the nomination of Slave Nikolov and Gjorgji Nachevski.
There will be 17 pairs nominated for the Men’s EHF EURO 2026, and the functionality of the championship’s officiating framework remains fully granted.
The case will be further investigated, and the EHF reserves the right to initiate legal procedures in front of its legal instances.
