The selection of Szymon Marciniak as Euro 2024 referee was expected to be certain. However, this time, apart from Tomasz Listkiewicz, Adam Kupsik will be the second assistant referee, not Pawel Sokolnicki. The change in the team of Szymon Marciniak does not result from Sokolnicki’s lack of form, but rather from the desire to give a chance to participate in the great tournament to another assistant referee from Poland. Other senior referees from Ekstraklasa are not ranked so high in FIFA or UEFA and they do not have chances to participate in the World Cup or Euro, so the only possibility of such promotion for other Polish match officials is associated with a possible cooperation with Marciniak. From several candidates from the list of Polish FIFA assistant referees, Marciniak chose Adam Kupsik from Poznan.
The election of Tomasz Listkiewicz, not Paweł Sokolnicki, may be due to the fact that Listkiewicz is older. For him, the Euro 2024 will probably be the last big tournament. The younger Sokolnicki still has a real chance to referee with Marciniak at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. The second assistant referee will probably be Kupsik. He is, in a sense, the luckiest in the history of Polish refereeing. Kupsik will go to the big tournament after only a season of intensive cooperation with Marciniak: four matches in the Champions League group stage, three in the World Cup qualifiers and three in the Euro qualifiers. Kupsik’s greatest achievement so far was participation in the FIFA Club World Cup, in December 2023, together with Marciniak, where they were appointed to the semi-final and the final. (Source: TVP/Rafal Rostkowski)
Pawel Sokolnicki released a statement: "First of all, I want to congratulate Szymon and his team on their nomination to Euro 2024. Poland will be a nation represented by two teams, it's a huge privilege and honor. On the matter itself, the answer is simple. The 2023 UCL Final was my last big game as a part of the team, and I was fully aware of it. The remaining matches with Szymon only resulted from my obligations to my employer, the Polish FA. I achieved huge success under Szymon Marciniak's leadership; there is nothing more beautiful for us than refereeing the World Cup final and experiencing everything related to this, for which I thank Szymon. In addition, five finals - including two in a row as AVAR in Cologne and Baku - represent another great chapter in my career. I have a wonderful family, wife and two children. We are together and healthy, and that's the most important thing. Other things are just additions, believe me. It's time for new challenges". (Source: Onet)
