Szymon Marciniak delivered a 45-minute speech at a convention organized by a controversial politician
European soccer’s governing physique UEFA confirmed on Friday that Szymon Marciniak will stay in control of subsequent week’s Champions League remaining between Manchester Metropolis and Inter Milan in Istanbul. The assertion got here after the referee claimed he had been “gravely misled” into attending an occasion organized by a Polish far-right chief.
Marciniak, who refereed final 12 months’s World Cup remaining between Argentina and France in Qatar, was the first speaker on the ‘Everest’ convention on Monday in Katowice. Billed as a ‘networking’ occasion, it was organized by Slawomir Mentzen – chief of the far-right Confederation social gathering.
“I had no data that [the event] was related [with] a Polish far-right motion,” Marciniak stated in an announcement printed on Friday. “Had I been conscious of this reality, I’d have categorically declined the invitation.”
He added that he “was gravely misled and utterly unaware” of the political affiliations of the organizers of the occasion. READ MORE African nation withdraws from Russia soccer match – media/africa/576787-russia-cameroon-friendly-match-football/
Mentzen, who’s broadly identified within the Polish political ecosystem for selling the political slogan, “We stand towards Jews, gays, abortion, taxation and the European Union,” claimed this week that the convention “had nothing to do with politics” and that the backlash towards Marciniak’s attendance was “absurd.”
In an announcement on Friday, UEFA stated it accepted Marciniak’s apology after session with an anti-racism group and gave the referee the go-ahead to officiate subsequent week’s decider.
“Primarily based on the knowledge supplied, UEFA confirmed that Marciniak will fulfill his position because the referee for the Champions League remaining,” including that the ‘By no means Once more’ anti-racism collective suggested UEFA that eradicating Marciniak from his position would “undermine the promotion of anti-discrimination.”
Polish Sports activities Minister Kamil Bortniczuk additionally defended the referee, saying in a letter to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin that Marciniak had no contact with any far-fight figures on the occasion, at which he delivered a 45-minute inspirational speech. The EU nation’s deputy international minister described makes an attempt to color Marciniak as having ties to the far-right as “an immense scandal.”
The UEFA Champions League remaining takes place on Saturday, June 10 on the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
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