Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov has quit international football - saying he did not want to play under Bulgaria national coach Hristo Stoichkov.
The Bulgarian captain said: "I don't want to play under the guidance of Hristo Stoichkov. My decision comes as a result of many events since Stoichkov took over."
He had earlier announced his decision to quit to a Bulgarian radio station, Radio Gong, following his country's 1-0 win in Luxembourg in their latest Euro 2008 qualifier on Wednesday night - but would not elaborate on his reasons, saying he wanted to wait until the weekend to make them public.
Earlier, Stoichkov said there had been no row between the two men.
"There's no conflict between me and Stiliyan. He is a very important figure in our squad, he's our captain and will remain our captain while I'm the coach."
Petrov, who has scored seven goals in 66 internationals, led the Balkan country to the Euro 2004 finals and was instrumental in helping them make a solid start in the current qualifying campaign, having helped his country go second in Group G on Wednesday night, making the timing of his announcement all the more baffling.
He said he would continue to support Bulgaria, who are second in the group table, despite making his announcement.
"From the bottom of my heart I hope they qualify for the Euro 2008 finals," Petrov added.
"It was like a bolt from the blue," said Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov, who plays for Tottenham. "He shared his intention with all of us after the match and we stayed late trying to persuade him to change his mind.
"We are all very surprised but we still hope he'll be with us in our next game."
