The round of 16 between Switzerland and Italy will be refereed by Marciniak, one of the best referees available to UEFA: Spalletti has not forgotten a bitter precedent with Napoli.
Will be Simon Marciniak the referee of the eighth-finals of the European Championship between Swiss e Italia. It is an important designation given the curriculum of the Polish whistleblower who during his career has directed very important matches such as the Champions League final Inter-Manchester City and the final of the last World Cup won by Argentina. But in his adventure in the world of refereeing there was no shortage of controversies and some controversies that involved some Italian teams.
Who is Marciniak, the referee of Switzerland-Italy
Among the whistles he is certainly one of the most famous, especially because he is always present at the most important events. The last pin pinned to his chest is the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar between France and Argentina and at the European Championships he also presented himself as one of the best match officials available to UEFA.
Marciniak has been an international since 2011 and has been part of the UEFA elite group since 2015. He has a past as an amateur footballer, but at the age of 21 he decided to embrace the whistle and start his career: from that moment his career began. climbed, so much so that now He is considered one of the most important referees in all of EuropeIn addition to the 2023 World Cup and Champions League finals, the Pole also refereed the 2023 Club World Cup final, which City won over Fluminense.
Switzerland-Italy, the probable lineups of Yakin and Spalletti: Fagioli and El Shaarawy are the new players
The controversies and mistakes with the Italians
However, his long career has not been without its flaws, especially with Italian teams. The last major controversy surrounding Marciniak dates back to the 2023 Champions League quarter-finals Napoli-Milan: the biggest mistake he was accused of was Leao’s foul on Lozano which should have led to a penalty for the Azzurri which would perhaps have allowed him to reopen the game.
But that season was particularly unlucky for him, as he risked missing out on the Champions League final for reasons other than football. Marciniak had been accused of participating in an event in Poland organized by the leader of the Polish far right “Mentzen”, known for his homophobic and anti-Semitic positions, and UEFA had asked him for clarification in this regard in order to confirm his presence on the pitch for that important event.
As if that wasn’t enough, before this year’s Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich the Pole sparked controversy for an old video in which he showed a bag with the Spanish club’s coat of arms.
