UEFA Champions League Final Referee Review

Uefa is currently reviewing the appointment of Szymon Marciniak as the referee for the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan in Istanbul on 10 June, after he spoke at an event organised by Polish far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen. Marciniak, 42, is a Polish referee who officiated the World Cup final between Argentina and France in December. Uefa has stated that it “abhors the ‘values’ that are promoted by the group in question and takes these allegations very seriously” and is seeking urgent clarification. Marciniak has since released a statement to the Onet Przeglad Sportowy website, saying that he “always disassociate[s] himself from expressions of racism, anti-Semitism, and intolerance” and that he promotes “fair play and respect for others”. Mentzen has denied any political involvement in the business conference and called the “denunciation” of Marciniak “absurd”. Poland’s sports minister Kamil Bortniczuk has written to Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin to confirm that Marciniak had no contact with Mentzen at the conference and that it had nothing to do with politics. Deputy foreign minister Pawel Jablonski has also condemned the untruthful accusations against Marciniak as “an immense scandal”. The Confederation party, which Mentzen is co-chairman of, has nine MPs in the Polish parliament and has placed as high as third in recent polls ahead of this autumn’s parliamentary elections.