Accused of having attended a meeting of the Polish far-right party, the referee of the Champions League final between City and Inter explained to the European Football Federation: “I didn’t know that the event was linked to an extremist party”
“I declare that I have never supported or legitimized any party, political organization or individual politician and I clearly dissociate myself from any extremist, racist or anti-Semitic views, statements and actions.” Szymon Marciniak closed the case opened yesterday after some press rumors about the participation in an event of Alavonimir Mentzen, leader of the Polish far-right Konfederacja party. The Polish referee has been confirmed by UEFA as referee for the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter on 10 June.
Excuses
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UEFA has decided to confirm Marciniak “after having investigated in relation to the accusations made against Szymon Marciniak for having participated in an event organized in Katowice on 29 May”, reads the statement released by the European Football Federation on the morning of 2 June. UEFA explained that it has taken “the accusations against the entire football community with the utmost seriousness, since we profoundly reject the values promoted by the group linked to the event itself. We therefore sought clarification as a matter of urgency and after conducting an investigation into this matter we received a statement from Mr. Marciniak expressing his deepest apologies and clarifying the circumstances of his involvement in the event”.
marciniak’s letter
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UEFA therefore decided to make the referee’s explanations public, attaching the letter to the press release released in the morning. Marciniak explains: “I hope my letter reaches all the people who felt affected and rightly concerned by my participation in the ‘Everest’ event on May 29 in Katowice. I deeply apologize for my involvement and for any inconvenience and displeasure it may have caused. I was misunderstood, as evidenced by the factual investigation, and was completely unaware of the real nature or affiliation of the event in question… As a professional involved in the game of football, I want to underline my full support to the values of which UEFA is the bearer, in particular inclusiveness and respect for people regardless of their origins”. The rather long and detailed letter ends with the sincere apologies reiterated by the Polish race director.
“lasciate arbitrare marciniak”
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UEFA also underlined that NeverAgain itself, the Polish association that had denounced the referee’s participation in the event of the far-right party, then asked to keep Marciniak’s designation for the final: the clarification was judged to be sincere consistent with all the social actors involved.
June 2, 2023 (change June 2, 2023 | 3:51 pm)
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