Referee Szymon Marciniak has been removed from the opening match at the European Football Championship in Germany by UEFA, Polish media report. The referee claimed a negative leading role on Wednesday by wrongly disallowing a goal by , in the semi-final of the Champions League between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
De Ligt thought he had made it 2-2 in injury time and thus forced extra time, but was disappointed. Marciniak had already blown the whistle moments earlier due to alleged offside by teammate Noussair Mazraoui. Due to the quick intervention of the referee, the VAR images could not be consulted, the goal was canceled and Real qualified for the final battle, in which Borussia Dortmund will be the opponent.
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Marciniak’s actions led to angry reactions from the Bayern camp. De Ligt himself spoke of the referee’s actions as a shame, while his trainer Thomas Tuchel and teammate Thomas Müller also had nothing good to say about the crucial intervention.
Marciniak was appointed by UEFA at the end of April as one of the nineteen referees who will be active at the final round of the European Championship. It was even planned that the Pole would take charge of the opening match, between host country Germany and Scotland, which will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich on June 14, of all days. The chance of that is according to Przeglad Sportowy however, ‘almost zero’ after Marciniak’s controversial performance in Madrid.
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