The Polish referees who nicked a road sign hours before a crucial Champions League clash have been banned for five months. Bartosz Frankowski and Tomasz Musial were removed from VAR duties for the Glasgow Rangers vs Dynamo Kyiv match after the incident. Local outlet TVP Sport say the Polish FA have banned them from matches for five months, with a further seven suspended. Experienced referee Frankowski was initially appointed as VAR, with Musial backing him up as assistant VAR.
TVP Sport reported that the duo and a third individual were caught by police allegedly stealing a road sign in the early hours of the morning. It claimed the trio were arrested at 1.43am for "destroying road infrastructure." The men, who were reported as being intoxicated, were then taken to a sobering-up centre - which will cost them money as police charge for use. Drunks tanks are used in many European countries when the crime is deemed not serious enough to be banged up in a cell. Senior Superintendent Kamil Golebiowski said: "At around 1:40am we received a report of three men carrying a road sign down the street. Police officers were dispatched to the scene. All of the men were intoxicated and had over 1.5 per milligrams of alcohol in their blood. They were taken to a sobering-up centre." As always for UEFA matches, the refereeing team was confirmed 48 hours before the match. Lithuanian referee Donatas Rumsas was confirmed to be leading the officials. Frankowski and Musial were listed as his VAR officials but were taken off the listing. Instead, fellow top flight Polish official Tomasz Kwiatkowski became the VAR, with Pawel Malec as his assistant. Frankowski, 37, is one of the top referees in Poland and an experienced international official. FIFA-listed for 10 years, he was an official at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 - acting as VAR in the latter.
The Polish FA have also published a statement, which reads: "The Committee decided to:
- Recognise the liability of Bartosz Frankowski and Tomasz Musiał for the alleged act;
- Impose a basic penalty on each of the accused referees - one year suspension: each referee will serve the mandatory suspension of five months, while the execution of the remaining part of the penalty, i.e. seven months, is suspended for a probation period of two years;
- Additionally impose a fine of PLN 25,000 (£4,000) on each of the referees."
Source: Express