Who is Szymon Marciniak, the referee for Liverpool vs Villarreal?
The 41-year-old refereed Villarreal this season in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Juventus in Turin.
Szymon Marciniak is the referee of tonight’s Champions League semi-final match between Liverpool and Villarreal at Anfield. Marciniak is one of Poland’s most highly-respected match officials.
The 41-year-old, who has been on the international scene since 2011, refereed Villarreal this season in the second leg of their last-16 tie against Juventus in Turin, in which Unai Emery’s side emphatically booked their place in the next round of the Champions League.
On Wednesday night, Marciniak will be assisted on the sidelines by his compatriots Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz. The fourth official will be Slovenia’s Slavko Vincic and the VAR will be manned by Poland’s Tomasz Kwiatkowski and Bartosz Frankowski.
Marciniak returns to Anfield
Liverpool have always won with the Polish referee in charge at Anfield; 1-0 against Besiktas, 7-0 against Spartak Moscow and 3-2 against AC Milan. Away from home they lost to PSG (2-1) and Atlético Madrid (1-0) and won in Milan against Inter (0-2) on 16 February.
His last Champions League match was refereed at the Santiago Bernabéu when Real Madrid played Chelsea, a match that saw Carlo Ancelotti’s side advance to the semi-finals of the competition after extra time.