Bulgarian football legend Hristo Stoichkov has allegedly beaten up Bulgarian photographer Lyubo Asenov in Barcelona.

Asenov was in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. He was the only accredited Bulgarian photographer for the start of the Formula 1 race, Dnevnik daily said.

"We were at the Salamanka restaurant in Barcelona together with my wife and two friends to celebrate Easter," Asenov was quoted as saying by Dnevnik. "Stoichkov and his wife were in the same restaurant. I decided to take a picture of him. So I took the picture and went back to our table. After the dinner, we left the restaurant and Stoichkov came after me. With one blow to the teeth he knocked me to the floor. He tried kicking me in the head, but I used my arms to protect myself. At that moment my wife came towards us and asked me what was going on. He started pulling her and scolded her."

"Stoichkov took my photo-camera and threatened me. He told me that I would see what would happen when I return to Bulgaria," Asenov said.

Spanish police intervened and recorded the incident as "minor hooliganism", Asenov said.

After the incident, Asenov went to hospital for first aid. The Spanish police confirmed to Dnevnik that an incident involving Hristo Stoichkov had taken place.

Editor-in-chief Nikolay Penchev of Bulgarian weekly 168 Chasa, Asenov's employer, told Bulgarian news agency Focus “We will consult a lawyer and discuss whether to sue Stoichkov.”  According to Focus, the newspaper might file a complaint in Spain. “I expect that Spanish courts are more effective than Bulgarian,” Penchev said.