UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, has initiated an investigation into referee Szymon Marciniak following his interaction with a far-right politician ahead of the Champions League final.
Marciniak, who is scheduled to officiate the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan on June 10, may potentially be removed from his position pending the outcome of the investigation.
Marciniak, a Polish referee, has previously overseen significant matches, including the World Cup final between Argentina and France, as well as Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.
The Athletic reports that Marciniak was seen talking to Slawomir Mentzen – the leader of the Confederation Party who is known for his anti-Semitic and homophobic positions – at a networking event.
“We stand against Jews, gays, taxation, and the European Union,” Mentzen controversially said during an event in 2019.
He also released the White IPA beer that is said to mock the Black Lives Matter movement.
In a statement, UEFA said it was aware of the allegations and further promised to provide a way forward after looking at all the facts.
“UEFA and the whole football community abhor the ‘values’ that are promoted by the group in question and takes these allegations very seriously. A further announcement will be made tomorrow, after reviewing all the evidence,” the football body stated, as quoted by the Guardian.
The event is said to have taken place on May 29, with Marciniak’s Facebook fan page sharing photos of him from the event.
Mourinho’s feud with Anthony Taylor
In what is proving to be a difficult week for UEFA referees, Sports Brief also reported on Jose Mourinho hurling obscenities at referee, Anthony Taylor after AS Roma lost the Europa League final to Sevilla on May 31.
The Portuguese tactician was far from happy with some of the decisions made by the English referee, who has had a number of run-ins with the Special one in the past during his time as manager in the Premier League.