UEFA punished the controversial referee of Inter Milan vs Barcelona, Szymon Marciniak out of the final
The second leg of the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 semi-final was played between Inter Milan and Barcelona, where Inter won 4-3 in a thrilling match. But the real spotlight of this match was not stolen by any player, but by referee Szymon Marciniak, whose decisions changed the mood of the entire match and the tournament.
Controversial performance of the referee
Szymon Marciniak, who has also officiated the 2022 FIFA World Cup final and the 2023 Champions League final, gave some such decisions in this match, which angered both Barcelona fans and the media. Inter Milan won by 7-6 in aggregate, but this victory came under a lot of questions.
During the match the most talked about were three incidents:
- The penalty given to Lautaro Martinez – which many people are calling a soft decision and Barcelona defenders immediately protested against it.
- Lamine Yamal was fouled – Barcelona says that they should have also got a clear penalty at that moment, but the referee ignored it.
- Francesco Acerbi’s stoppage time goal – in which Gerard Martin was fouled, but it was ignored and the goal was considered valid.
Big accusation by Catalan media
The Catalan media in Spain went a step further and even suggested that Marciniak may have links to Real Madrid, which is why their bias was against Barcelona. Although Marciniak did not give any public response to this accusation, the controversy grew even more.
UEFA took strong action
In the midst of all this, UEFA took a sudden step and removed Marciniak not only from the Champions League final, but also from the Europa League and Conference League finals. According to Spain’s sports outlet Diario Sport, Marciniak’s future appointments have also now been questioned.
Former Swiss referee Urs Meier defended Marciniak and said the overall performance was not as bad as it was made out to be. But UEFA’s actions show that the organization is not taking lightly the reaction of fans and the media.
Fake Quotes and UEFA Policy
A Middle Eastern outlet published some false quotes in Marciniak’s name, which the referee himself discredited. He also clarified that UEFA has a strict rule that referees cannot comment publicly on their decisions.
Questions on Final and Future Assignments
Now when Inter Milan face PSG in the final, fans will naturally raise the question that if a referee’s controversial decisions can have such a big impact, on what basis does UEFA appoint him? Removing an experienced referee like Marciniak is a big message that no matter how strong your track record is, if your decisions raise questions on the integrity of the game, you will have to face accountability.
A New Mod in UEFA’s Refereeing Standards
This whole drama could be a turning point for UEFA’s referee assessment system. Will referees be subjected to more scrutiny from now on? Will pressure from fans and media have an impact on officiating decisions? And the biggest question – will Marciniak ever be able to officiate a major UEFA final in the future?