UEFA have launched an investigation after a referee denied “fake news” claiming he and three other officials arrived drunk and fought other passengers before officiating a match in Greece.
First official Pawel Raczkowski, his assistants Radoslaw Siejka as well as Adam Kupcik and VAR ref Krzysztof Jakubik have categorically denied those allegations and stated they were in fact the ones assaulted.
According to Sport FM, the football governing body have initiated disciplinary proceedings to investigate the matter that led to the “shady” replacement of all Polish officials before the Superleague play-off clash between AEK Athens and Aris on Sunday.
UEFA will also request audio and video material from Athens International Airport’s security to deem whether there was a scuffle in the luggage claim area.
Raczkowski, though, insists he and his colleagues were actually the ones who were threatened and assaulted by two people claiming to be Panathinaikos fans at Eleftherios Venizelos.
The Polish official added that he was “spat” at in the face and “pushed” by the alleged assailants until security intervened.
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Raczkowski issued the following statement: “In relation to the news bulletin about the purported situation at Athens International Airport from the 8th of April 2023, I want to categorically deny being intoxicated or exhibiting aggressive behaviour.
“I was attacked by two Greek speaking Polish men. They identified themselves as Panathinaikos supporters and attacked me first, verbally accusing me of match-fixing, secondly physically by spitting on me an [sic] then pushing me.
“I reported the situation to airport security who calmed the aggressive individuals down.
“After this I went directly to the hotel where I stayed all night. I deny all fake news about myself and the whole referee team.”
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Greek governing body EPO opted to replace the four refs with Greek counterparts, led by Aristotelis Diamantopoulos, even though it was decided only international officials would oversee the play-offs.
Olympiacos, who are owned by Nottingham Forest supremo Evangelos Marinakis, issued another fiery and lengthy statement towards EPO president Takis Baltakos as well as the body’s chief referee and former Premier League official Steve Bennett
The reigning Greek champions described the body as a “corruption ring” and hinted they will take the matter to court.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
