A questionable decision by UEFA raises concerns within the Catalan club and puts the team under unprecedented pressure!
close Barcelona emerged from their match against Real Valladolid with a hard-fought 2-1 victory, but this win did little to ease the concerns raised by Hansi Flick’s lineup of substitutes, especially with a crucial Champions League match looming. Barcelona is preparing for a match that leaves no room for error, as the Catalan club’s fans …A questionable decision by UEFA raises concerns within the Catalan club and puts the team under unprecedented pressure!
Barcelona emerged from their match against Real Valladolid with a hard-fought 2-1 victory, but this win did little to ease the concerns raised by Hansi Flick’s lineup of substitutes, especially with a crucial Champions League match looming.
Barcelona is preparing for a match that leaves no room for error, as the Catalan club’s fans dream of returning from Italy with a ticket to the most prestigious European final, following a 3-3 draw in the first leg at the Montjuïc Stadium.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Nacional, UEFA has appointed Polish referee Szymon Marciniak to officiate the high-stakes second leg of the Champions League semi-final between Inter Milan and Barcelona, which will take place Tuesday evening at the Giuseppe Meazza, after the first leg ended 3-3 in Catalonia.
Marciniak is widely regarded as the best referee in both Europe and the world for the 2022–23 season. He officiated the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar between Argentina and France, the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan, and the Club World Cup final.
Despite his presence in these major finals, Marciniak has recently been at the center of controversy. One notable incident involved the disallowance of a penalty for Julián Álvarez during the Madrid derby in the Champions League.
Additionally, in Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the second leg of the 2023–24 semi-final, Marciniak’s assistant raised the flag and stopped play after Matthijs de Ligt scored for Bayern. Marciniak later apologized for the error.
This will be the sixth time Marciniak officiates a Barcelona match, and the record is concerning: one win, two losses, and two draws. His history with Inter Milan includes two wins, four losses, and three draws.
Dutch official Pol van Boekel will be in charge of VAR, despite the controversy surrounding his decisions during Barcelona’s loss to Inter Milan in the 2022–23 group stage and against Bayern Munich in the same season.
Van Boekel also made headlines during Real Madrid’s comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2021–22 season, when he failed to call a clear foul by Karim Benzema on Gianluigi Donnarumma. That mistake became infamous in the Netherlands, where he was blamed for denying PSV the league title and instead helping Feyenoord.
