Champions League final referee Mazignak accused of being close to the far-right leader UEFA urgently launched an investigation

2023-06-02 15:09

Champions League final referee Mazignak accused of being close to the far-right leader UEFA urgently launched an investigation


Following the mid-May choice of the 2022 World's Best Referee Simon Maziniak, the 42-year-old Polish referee Simon Maziniak, to officiate in the UEFA Champions League final in mid-May, an anti-racism group has recently accused the referee of collusion with pole. Contacted by right-wing politicians, UEFA immediately began a review and will issue a further statement on this before the final.


Mazignak has officiated the Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, and then also officiated the 2022 Qatar World Cup match between Argentina and France. He was named the best referee in the world in 2022 by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) in January this year. UEFA also chose him last week to serve as the referee for the UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan on June 11.


Champions League final referee Mazignak accused of being close to the far-right leader UEFA urgently launched an investigation


The founder of an anti-racism organization "Never Again", Rafal Penkovsky, issued a statement today, pointing out that the publicity of Maziniak and Polish far-right politician Slavomir Mentern Contact and was appalled at a recent promotional event, berating football's top referee for being inconsistent with fundamental values of fair play such as equality and respect.


Mentern is the leader of the populist Polish far-right Konfederacja Wolność i Niepodległość (Konfederacja Wolność i Niepodległość) party, which has been accused of promoting anti-Semitism, sexism, extreme nationalism and homophobia, among other views.


The far-right party leader recently advertised on social media that referee Maziniak participated in party meetings and served as a speaker.


The "Never Again" organization called on Maziniak to come forward and admit his mistake as soon as possible, otherwise UEFA and FIFA will bear the consequences.


As the "Never Again" organization disclosed the incident, UEFA was also forced to investigate it, and stated in a statement that it would issue a further statement this week after reviewing all the evidence, nine days before the Champions League final. Deal with this incident urgently.


At the same time, UEFA also emphasized its position in a statement, "The entire football world is disgusted with the 'values' promoted by the relevant organization, and the authorities will take this allegation very seriously."