NYON, Switzerland (AP) — A VAR official who worked at the 2023 Champions League final was dropped from a qualifying rounds game Tuesday by UEFA after reportedly being detained while drunk with a match colleague the night before.
Polish media reported that Bartosz Frankowski and his VAR assistant Tomasz Musial were stopped by police in the early hours Tuesday carrying a street sign in the town of Lublin, Poland.
They were due to work at the Dynamo Kyiv-Rangers first-leg game in the Champions League third qualifying round. Dynamo is hosting the game in Poland because Ukrainian teams cannot play international games at home during the Russian military invasion.
UEFA confirmed in a statement it replaced the two VAR officials without giving details.
The Polish soccer federation said it had referred reports of “inappropriate conduct” to its disciplinary body.
Frankowski and Musial face having their contracts terminated if the claims are proven, the federation said.
When Manchester City won its first Champions League title, beating Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul 14 months ago, Frankowski was an assistant to Tomasz Kwiatkowski, the VAR specialist.
Kwiatkowski was a late replacement for Frankowski on game duty Tuesday. The match finished 1-1.
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