Two Polish officials have been banned from refereeing by UEFA for bringing the game into disrepute by going on a drunken bender before a Champions League match.
Bartosz Frankowski and Tomasz Musial have both been suspended from refereeing until June 30 by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body. The decision comes after they were arrested by police before a Champions League qualifier between Rangers and Dynamo Kyev in Poland in August.
UEFA had to find replacements to work on VAR for the match, which took place on August 6 in Lublin, after Frankowski and Musial were arrested for trying to steal a road sign in the early hours of the morning. Frankowski was supposed to act as VAR for the Champions League qualifier, with Musial as his assistant.
Instead, they spent the morning of the match sobering up in a police cell, with UEFA drafting Tomasz Kwiatkowski and Pawel Malec in to take their jobs. European football’s governing body has now handed down its decision, which comes as a major blow to their careers.
Frankowski is one of Poland’s top officials, having refereed at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, where he was a VAR. Both he and Musial have worked in Poland’s Ekstraklasa and the Champions League.
At the time, Lublin City Police Senior Superintendent Kamil Golebiowski told TVP Sport: “At around 1.40 am, we received a report of three men carrying a road sign down the street. Police officers were dispatched to the scene. All of the men were intoxicated and had over 1.5 per mille of alcohol in their blood. They were taken to a sobering-up centre.”
Frankowski released a statement in the aftermath. “I am still trying to find words that will sufficiently express how much I regret this incident and how sorry I am,” he said. “I realise that with one such violation, I ruined 22 years of refereeing, ruined my entire career. It was stupidity, an idiotic fantasy, I don’t even know what to call it.
“I should have calmly prepared for the match and not gone anywhere. As one of the police officers later told me, our prank was spotted by CCTV cameras. And they intervened. I would like to clarify that we were in no way aggressive. These were stupid jokes. We did not suspect that it would be perceived this way. We had no bad intentions.
“The prank with this sign was a stupid game. Now, looking back, I understand that it was not a very smart idea. It was a sign that was lying next to where road works were being carried out. And we were passing by. I am very sorry that this happened. And on a purely human level, it was stupid, because I know that my unfortunate behaviour will cast a shadow on many years of hard work.
“What happened was irresponsible and unprofessional on my part, and I am fully aware of that. I would just like to emphasise that there were no acts of aggression in my behaviour, I did not break the law and there was no unlawful behaviour on my part towards police officers or anyone. I was not charged with any offence, I was only fined. I sincerely apologise to the Polish FA and I also apologise to my family. I understand the consequences that await me, but I hope that I will be able to rehabilitate myself.”
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