Barça has to travel to Milan to try to advance past the knockout stage against Inter and qualify for the Champions League final. After the first leg played in Montjuïc, the semifinals are tied at three on the scoreboard, and a few days before the match is played, the referee is already known. UEFA has appointed, raising much controversy, the Polish Szymon Marciniak, known for his sympathy toward Real Madrid.
Szymon Marciniak Has a High Pro-Real Madrid Record
Marciniak has a long record behind him and has recently been involved in controversy. He was the one who disallowed Julián Álvarez's goal for an alleged double touch in the penalty shootout between Atlético and Real Madrid. When this possibility was reviewed from the VAR, the Pole did not go to review it on the monitor and decided to invalidate it quickly, trying to prevent any reaction time.
Szymon Marciniak is also remembered for the return leg of the Champions semifinals in 2024, in a match between Real Madrid and Bayern. In the VAR era, his assistant raised the flag without letting Matthijs de Ligt finish a play, who scored a goal that would have forced extra time. Despite the Dutchman scoring, since the whistle blew just before the shot, the VAR could no longer assess the action.
In controversial images that went viral not many years ago, Marciniak could be seen attending matches accompanied by a Real Madrid toiletry bag. In 2022, after facing the white club while coaching Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel publicly pointed out the Pole's friendship with Carlo Ancelotti, indicating how well they had enjoyed themselves together.
Controversy with VAR in Inter-Barça
Not only has the appointment of Szymon Marciniak raised suspicions from Barcelona's environment. They also didn't like the assistant in the VAR: Pol van Boekel. He will be the right-hand man of Dennis Hingler, exchanging roles they already had in the 2022-23 Champions group stage. It was precisely in an Inter-Barça that ended with a 1-0 victory for the Italians.
In stoppage time, Dumfries touched the ball with his hand in the area after a shot by Ansu Fati. The VAR did not intervene, and a penalty that could have meant 1-1 was not called. Earlier, a legal goal by Pedri was disallowed, which had previously unintentionally touched Ansu's hand.
In short, the appointment of the refereeing team, starting especially with Szymon Marciniak, for this Inter-Barça, has not been well-received in the capital of Catalonia... Let's hope they don't cause trouble.