Polish football referee Szymon Marciniak apologised June 2, for talking at a enterprise occasion tied to a far-right politician and was confirmed by UEFA to officiate subsequent week’s Champions League ultimate.
Marciniak’s appointment for the sport between Manchester City and Inter Milan on June 10, months after he refereed the World Cup final in Qatar, was in danger on June 1 after a Warsaw-based anti-racism group alerted UEFA to his convention look this week.
UEFA stated on June 2, it accepted Mr. Marciniak’s “profound apologies and clarification” and that the anti-racism group Never Again had additionally then requested 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 press release revealed by UEFA, including he was “gravely misled and completely unaware” of the hyperlinks to Slawomir Mentzen, a frontrunner of the far-right Confederation occasion.
“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’m dedicated to studying from this expertise and making certain that such lapses in judgment don’t happen sooner or later.”
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.
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Mr. Marciniak is widely seen as the world’s best referee and was supported June 2, by Poland’s government as UEFA considered removing him from next week’s match in Istanbul. Polish media reported that Marciniak had been dropped by UEFA but efforts were being made to restore him.
Mr. Marciniak wrote on his Instagram account late June 1, that he “by no means supported nor legitimised any political occasion, organisation or particular person politician.”
However, neither the Instagram put up nor an earlier assertion to Never Again supplied an apology or acknowledged the potential of an error of judgment.
Polish sports activities minister Kamil Bortniczuk defended Mr. Marciniak earlier Friday. He wrote in a letter to UEFA circulated by nationwide media that the referee’s speech at an occasion this week had “nothing to do with politics.”
It was a “harmful manipulation,” the sports activities minister wrote, to hyperlink the referee to the politics of Mr. Mentzen, claiming the boys had not met round Mr. Marciniak giving a 45-minute speech of a “strictly business, motivational, and inspirational character.”
Mr. Mentzen, whose occasion has promoted antisemitic, homophobic and sexist views, later used social media to reward Mr. Marciniak because the standout speaker on the networking occasion.
UEFA stated in a press release June 1, “the whole football community abhor the ‘values’ that are promoted by the (political) group in question.”
The London-based Fare community, which helps establish racism and discrimination incidents at worldwide soccer video games, stated it welcomed UEFA’s fast intervention and the referee’s apology.
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“If the challenges of discrimination and exclusion in football, and in our societies at large, are to be faced, clear leadership is necessary,” Fare chair John Olivieira said in a statement. “Football cannot be allowed to be seen as a space that tolerates extremism.
“We want to thank our colleagues Never Again in Poland for their vigilance. We deplore any threats to them or attempts to discredit them as a consequence of their work.”
The head of Never Again, Rafal Pankowski, informed The Associated Press it “has gotten a flood of hateful messages. It totally goes beyond anything we have ever experienced.”
Mr. Marciniak additionally refereed for FIFA on the 2018 World Cup and for UEFA on the 2016 European Championship, in addition to in membership competitors video games over a number of seasons. He missed Euro 2020 whereas recovering from a coronary heart challenge after a COVID-19 an infection.