Bulgarian team Arda Kardzhali paid their respects to Ganchev before Sunday’s game against Levski Sofia.
However, during the game, Arda posted to their Facebook page to explain that they had been misinformed about the death of Ganchev.
"The management of PFC Arda would like to express a huge apology to the former Arda player Petko Ganchev and his relatives after the club received wrong information about his death," the club wrote.
"We wish Petko Ganchev many more years of good health and to enjoy the success of Arda."
Speaking with television station bTV, Ganchev explained how he found out about his supposed death.
“I never miss watching Arda’s matches on television,” he said. “This time, I was about ten minutes late for the game against Levski because I had some work to do. As I was driving home, my phone started ringing a lot but I was driving and I didn’t dare to answer.
“I entered the garden and my wife greeted me in tears. She said, ‘Petko, Petko, they’ve announced on TV that you’ve passed away!’ I couldn’t understand what she was saying or what had happened.”
