SOFIA - Disgruntled fans of Bulgarian League side CSKA Sofia have dug a symbolic grave of their club's owner at its home ground in downtown Sofia, sports websites reported yesterday.

Several sods of grass were removed from the football pitch, forming a symbolic grave, adorned by a tombstone carrying a cross and an inscription of the name of the company that owns the club, Titan, sportal.bg website said.

The pitch had already been repaired by yesterday morning but a picture of the "grave" circulated on Facebook and other social media, accompanied by a caption "Five years is enough. Titan = shame."

CSKA Sofia is one of Bulgaria's most popular clubs.

However, the 31-time champions have been hit by serious financial difficulties in recent years, leading to frequent coaching changes and worsening results.

CSKA suffered a bitter 2-1 loss to arch-rivals Levski Sofia last weekend and are fourth in the league.

The unusual protest could be part of a developing trend: fans of Serbian regional league club Macva Sabac, fed up with their club's performance, dug a grave on their team's pitch on Monday.

The two-metre long shallow grave was also adorned with a cross carrying a message which read: "Second division or this".