Referee Szymon Marciniak denies Barcelona comments following Champions League controversy | OneFootball

Despite a thrilling tie between Inter and Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final, with the two sides sharing 13 goals in what some are already describing as the best semi-final ever, the most talked about man in Spain after the game has not been any of the players – nor the managers. For a second time in the space of two months, Polish referee Szymon Marciniak is at the centre of attention.

Marciniak was in charge of the highly controversial ‘double-touch’ penalty from Julian Alvarez, which saw Atletico Madrid exit the Champions League against rivals Real Madrid. Now Barcelona have pointed the finger clearly at Marciniak in the aftermath of the semi-final in Milan.

Barcelona complaints about Marciniak

With the exception of compatriot Wojciech Szczesny, all of the Barcelona players interviewed after the game criticised Marciniak, while Hansi Flick was also surprised by his consistency in the wrong sense. President Joan Laporta has since hit out at his display too.

Image via Luca Bruno / 20 Minutos

Marciniak comments in response

On Wednesday it was reported that Marciniak had dismissed their complaints in the media. An Egyptian outlet, Al Qahera, claimed that Marciniak had said that “their comments are ridiculous. What can I say about these stupid comments? I didn’t damage anyone. I’m ready for anything [if complaints are taken further]. Inter‘s third goal was definitely valid.”

Marciniak denies comments in Poland

Now he has disassociated himself with those comments complaining that they were made up. Polish outlet Przeglad Sportowy Onet (via MD) say that referees are not permitted to comment on incidents that occur during the games, and that ‘as Szymon Marciniak himself has informed us, such statements did not occur.’

Different story after the Julian Alvarez incident

However this was not the case after the ‘double-touch’ Alvarez incident. In the aftermath of that, Marciniak did appear on Saudi Arabian outlet WinWin defending his decision. UEFA have also backed him up with video evidence, while the Atletico Madrid Supporters’ Club Foundation are taking the issue to court, claiming said evidence was doctored.