UCL 2022/23 Final | Referee keeps job after apologising for ties to far-right leader

This football news article by The Hindu reported that Polish football referee Szymon Marciniak has apologised on June 2, 2023, for speaking at a business event tied to a far-right politician and was confirmed by UEFA to officiate next week’s Champions League final.

Polish football referee Szymon Marciniak apologised June 2, for speaking at a business event tied to a far-right politician and was confirmed by UEFA to officiate next week's Champions League final.

Marciniak's appointment for the game between Manchester City and Inter Milan on June 10, months after he refereed the World Cup final in Qatar, was at risk on June 1 after a Warsaw-based anti-racism group alerted UEFA to his conference appearance this week.

UEFA said on June 2, it accepted Mr. Marciniak's “profound apologies and clarification” and that the anti-racism group Never Again had also then asked for the referee to be retained.

“I want to express my deepest apologies for my involvement and any distress or harm it may have caused,” Marciniak wrote in a statement published by UEFA, adding he was “gravely misled and completely unaware” of the links to Slawomir Mentzen, a leader of the far-right Confederation party.

“I had no knowledge that [the conference] was associated with a Polish extreme-right movement. Had I been aware of this fact, I would have categorically declined the invitation,” the referee wrote. “I am committed to learning from this experience and ensuring that such lapses in judgment do not occur in the future."

UEFA noted Never Again’s acceptance of Mr. Marciniak’s apology by “firmly asserting that removing him would undermine the promotion of anti-discrimination.”

“Based on the information provided, UEFA confirms that Mr. Marciniak will fulfil his role as the referee for the 2023 UEFA Champions League final,” the European football body said.