Champions League final referee under UEFA scrutiny for links to far-right leader in Poland
An anti-racism group called on football’s top referee Thursday to distance himself from a far-right politician in Poland, and UEFA said it wanted “urgent clarification” ahead of the Champions League final. The Never Again group in Warsaw said Marciniak “reportedly promoted and participated in a recent event organized by a Polish far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen.” ’We are shocked and appalled by Marciniak’s public association with Mentzen and his brand of toxic far-right politics,” Never Again co-founder Rafal Pankowski said in a statement. UEFA said in a statement “the whole football community abhor the ‘values’ that are promoted by the group in question and takes these allegations very seriously.” Pankowski said Never Again called upon Marciniak “to acknowledge his mistake. If he does not do it, we believe UEFA and FIFA should draw consequences.” The 42-year-old Marciniak refereed at the 2022 and 2018 World Cups and the 2016 European Championship.
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