CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Who is Szymon Marciniak, referee for the Real Madrid-Bayern Champions League semi-final?
Poland’s Szymon Marciniak has been appointed by UEFA to referee Wednesday’s clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.
UEFA have confirmed that one of their most experienced officials, Poland’s Szymon Marciniak will be the referee for Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg game between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
The game is delicately poised following an entertaining 2-2 draw last week in Bavaria as Los Blancos set their sights on a 15th title with Bayern gunning for their seventh.
The 42-year-old Pole has already taken charge of four UCL games this season along with 27 matches in the domestic Polish top flight.
Real Madrid - Bayern Munich
Top rated UEFA official
Marciniak is one of the top-rated referee in men’s soccer right now and his last high profile global assignment was to oversee the Club World Cup showpiece final in Jeddah as Manchester City swept Brazilian side Fluminense aside late last year.
In December 2022, he oversaw Argentina’s penalty shootout victory over France in the 2022 men’s World Cup final, becoming the first Polish referee to be entrusted with the tournament’s trophy decider.
In June 2023, Marciniak was also the first Pole to referee the men’s Champions League final. He took charge of the clash in Istanbul, which saw Man City beat Inter Milan 1-0, despite UEFA conducting a probe into his participation in an event with links to a far-right movement prior to the game.
Marciniak apologised for his attendance at the event in Katowice, saying in a statement: “Upon reflection and further investigation, it has become evident that I was gravely misled and completely unaware of the true nature and affiliations of the event in question.
“I had no knowledge that it was associated [with] a Polish extreme-right movement. Had I been aware of this fact, I would have categorically declined the invitation.”
A FIFA international referee since 2011, Marciniak first officiated in the Ekstraklasa, the top flight of men’s league soccer in Poland, in April 2009. He made his Champions League debut in September 2014 and has has refereed at two World Cups - 2018 and 2022.
The 42-year-old is also one of the 18 referees shortlisted by UEFA to oversee games at the forthcoming European Championships which commence next month in Germany.
