The French judoka was accused of domestic violence by his partner Margaux Pinot last November, but Schmitt was released by the Bobigny criminal court, citing insufficient evidence.

However, the case and the accusations had cost Schmitt his contract with the Israeli national team.

Interestingly, BFD is of the opinion that Schmitt is "the specialist to lead Bulgaria to the Olympics in Paris" in 2024.

BFD President Rumen Stoilov has claimed that the federation "checked things out" and met with Schmitt twice before hiring him.

"We are absolutely aware of the situation," Stoilov said.

"A man who has not been convicted is innocent."

Women’s rights activists are not happy with BFD’s appointment and said that this could send the wrong message to Bulgarian society, where partners, husbands, and sons are suspected in the deaths of at least 15 women in the past year alone.

"There is an ethical issue here, and it is to what extent we accept domestic violence as something normal, because this is a practice throughout our country," Julia Andonova, from the PULSE Foundation, an NGO that deals with domestic violence and other social ills, said.

Schmitt is expected to help train male and female judokas for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, scheduled be held from July 26 to August 11.