Marciniak denies the rumors: "I'm already training and heading to FIFA training camp"

Polish referee Szymon Marciniak was forced to pull out last week from the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match Liverpool – Galatasaray due to an injury suffered during his warm-up routine.

“Rumours about my injury, which would exclude me from refereeing for many months, are completely untrue. The truth is that I suffered an injury in the lumbar spine and that's the only reason I didn't referee the Liverpool – Galatasaray match. I'm already back for training, so far light, and from 29 March to 3 April I will take part in the FIFA training camp for UEFA referee candidates to work in the World Cup”, explained Marciniak.

Source: TVP Sport

FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers – UEFA (Play-Offs, Semi-finals)

26 March 2026

Path A

Italy – Northern Ireland 

Referee: Danny Makkelie NED (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra NED
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries NED
Fourth Official: Jesus Gil Manzano ESP
VAR: Pol van Boekel NED
AVAR: Jeroen Manschot NED
Referee Assessor: Markus Nobs SUI

Wales – Bosnia and Herzegovina
Referee: Istvan Kovacs ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Mihai Marica ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Ferencz Tunyogi ROU
Fourth Official: Tobias Stieler GER
VAR: Dennis Higler NED
Referee Assessor: Marinus Koopman NED

Path B

Ukraine – Sweden
Referee: Joao Pinheiro POR
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: Erik Lambrechts BEL
VAR: Tiago Martins POR
AVAR: Andre Narciso POR
Referee Assessor: Juan Fernandez Marin ESP

Poland – Albania
Referee: Anthony Taylor ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn ENG
Fourth Official: Donatas Rumsas LTU
VAR: Jarred Gillett ENG
AVAR: Michael Salisbury ENG
Referee Assessor: Costas Kapitanis CYP

Path C

Türkiye – Romania
Referee: François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni FRA
Fourth Official: Benoît Bastien FRA

VAR: Willy Delajod FRA

AVAR: Jérôme Brisard FRA

Referee Assessor: Elmir Pilav BIH

Slovakia – Kosovo
Referee: Espen Eskas NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Bashevkin NOR
Fourth Official: Nicholas Walsh SCO
VAR: Rob Dieperink NED
AVAR: Clay Ruperti NED
Referee Assessor: Lucilio Batista POR

Path D

Denmark – North Macedonia
Referee: Felix Zwayer GER
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Kempter GER
Assistant Referee 2: Dominik Schaal GER
Fourth Official: Daniel Siebert GER
VAR: Bastian Dankert GER
AVAR: Sascha Stegemann GER
Referee Assessor: William Young SCO

Czechia – Ireland
Referee: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist SWE
Fourth Official: Halil Umut Meler TUR
VAR: Bram Van Driessche BEL
AVAR: Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez ESP
Referee Assessor: Stefan Messner AUT

FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers – Play-off Tournament (Semi-finals)

Mexico, 26 March 2026

Bolivia – Suriname
Referee: Alireza Faghani AUS (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis AUS
Assistant Referee 2: James Lindsay AUS
Fourth Official: Mustapha Ghorbal ALG
VAR: Fedayi San SUI
AVAR: Ivan Bebek CRO

New Caledonia – Jamaica
Referee: Gustavo Tejera URU
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran URU
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Barreiro URU
Fourth Official: Cristian Garay CHI
VAR: Juan Lara CHI 

AVAR: Antonio Garcia URU

FIFA World Cup 2026: Hernandez (ESP) added last-minute to the pre-selected referees list

Originally planned for 2-6 March 2026 in Dubai (UAE), the last seminar for UEFA pre-selected referees was rescheduled in Viareggio (Italy), with the participants divided in two groups due to the World Cup Qualifiers.

Group 1 (24-27 March 2026)

1. Michael Oliver (ENG, 1985)

2. Clement Turpin (FRA, 1982)

3. Maurizio Mariani (ITA, 1982)

4. Slavko Vincic (SVN, 1979)

5. Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP, 1982)

6. Jose Sanchez Martinez (ESP, 1983)

7. Sandro Schärer (SUI, 1988)

Group 2 (30 March - 2 April 2026)

1. Irfan Peljto (BIH, 1984)

2. Anthony Taylor (ENG, 1978)

3. Francois Letexier (FRA, 1989)

4. Felix Zwayer (GER, 1981)

5. Danny Makkelie (NED, 1983)

6. Espen Eskas (NOR, 1988)

7. Szymon Marciniak (POL, 1981)

8. Joao Pinheiro (POR, 1988)

9. Istvan Kovacs (ROU, 1984)

10. Glenn Nyberg (SWE, 1988)

UEFA Nations League 2024/2025 – League C/D Play-Offs (First Leg)

26 March 2026

Gibraltar – Latvia
Referee: Ivan Kružliak SVK (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Branislav Hancko SVK
Assistant Referee 2: Ján Pozor SVK
Fourth Official: Michal Očenáš SVK
VAR: Michael Fabbri ITA
AVAR: Valerio Marini ITA
Referee Observer: Pawel Gil POL

Malta – Luxembourg
Referee: Irfan Peljto BIH
Assistant Referee 1: Senad Ibrišimbegović BIH
Assistant Referee 2: Davor Beljo BIH
Fourth Official: Miloš Gigović BIH
VAR: Matej Jug SVN
AVAR: Mario Zebec CRO
Referee Observer: Jon Skjervold NOR

UEFA U-21 Euro 2027 Qualifiers (Matchday 7)

26-27 March 2026

Iceland – Estonia
Referee: Marius Grotta NOR (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Erland Hareland NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Henrik Sunde NOR
Fourth Official: Marius Lien NOR
Referee Observer: Markus Strömbergsson SWE

San Marino – Finland
Referee: Luka Bilbija BIH
Assistant Referee 1: Amer Macić BIH
Assistant Referee 2: Marko Perić BIH
Fourth Official: Nihad Ljajić BIH
Referee Observer: Aleksandar Stavrev MKD

Ireland – Moldova
Referee: Walter Altmann AUT
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Steinacher AUT
Assistant Referee 2: Luka Katholnig AUT
Fourth Official: Daniel Pfister AUT
Referee Observer: Gunnar Jónsson ISL

Italy – North Macedonia
Referee: David Dickinson SCO
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie SCO
Assistant Referee 2: Jonathan Bell SCO
Fourth Official: Lloyd Wilson SCO
Referee Observer: Igor Pristovnik CRO

Luxembourg – France
Referee: Matthias Jöllenbeck GER
Assistant Referee 1: Christof Günsch GER
Assistant Referee 2: Jonas Weickenmeier GER
Fourth Official: Tobias Reichel GER
Referee Observer: Joeri Van De Velde BEL

Azerbaijan – Portugal
Referee: Chrístos Vergétis GRE
Assistant Referee 1: Andréas Fotópoulos GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Konstandínos Stáikos GRE
Fourth Official: Aléxandros Katsikogiánnis GRE
Referee Observer: Giorgi Vadachkoria GEO

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Slovenia
Referee: Ante Čulina CRO
Assistant Referee 1: Dario Kolarević CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Kristijan Novosel CRO
Fourth Official:
Referee Observer: Ferenc Székely HUN

Cyprus – Spain
Referee: Mathieu Vernice FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Aurélien Drouet FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Florian De Araujo FRA
Fourth Official: Marc Bollengier FRA
Referee Observer: Christopher Lautier MLT

Kazakhstan – Slovakia
Referee: Atilla Karaoglan TUR
Assistant Referee 1:
Assistant Referee 2:
Fourth Official: Ayberk Demirbaş TUR
Referee Observer: Alieh Čykun BLR

Georgia – Latvia
Referee:
Assistant Referee 1: Mários Kalogírou CYP
Assistant Referee 2: Giórgos Charalámbous CYP
Fourth Official: Andónis Konstandinídis CYP
Referee Observer: Augustus Constantin ROU

Greece – Malta
Referee: Cláudio Pereira POR
Assistant Referee 1:
Assistant Referee 2:
Fourth Official: Fábio Veríssimo POR
Referee Observer: Ognjen Valjić BIH

Poland – Armenia
Referee: Vitalijs Spasjonnikovs LVA
Assistant Referee 1: Raimonds Tatriks LVA
Assistant Referee 2:
Fourth Official: Aleksandrs Anufrijevs LVA
Referee Observer: Jens Larsen DEN

Germany – Northern Ireland
Referee: Jakob Sundberg DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Victor Skytte DEN
Assistant Referee 2: Jesper Dahl DEN
Fourth Official: Aydin Uslu DEN
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere BEL

Norway – Netherlands
Referee: Donald Robertson SCO
Assistant Referee 1: Ross Macleod SCO
Assistant Referee 2: David Roome SCO
Fourth Official: Daniel McFarlane SCO
Referee Observer: Stanislav Todorov BUL

Ukraine – Lithuania
Referee: Roman Jitari MDA
Assistant Referee 1: Denis Oală MDA
Assistant Referee 2: Andrei Bodean MDA
Fourth Official: Andrei Breguță MDA
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek AUT

Sweden – Montenegro
Referee: James Robinson NIR
Assistant Referee 1: Andrew Nethery NIR
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Jeffrey NIR
Fourth Official: Christopher Morrison NIR
Referee Observer: Gediminas Mažeika LTU

Wales – Belarus
Referee: Johan Ellefsen FRO
Assistant Referee 1: Dan Hojgaard FRO
Assistant Referee 2: Jorleif Djurhuus FRO
Fourth Official: Heini Vidoy FRO
Referee Observer: Marco Borg MLT

Kosovo – Romania
Referee: Iwan Griffith WAL
Assistant Referee 1: Johnathon Bryant WAL
Assistant Referee 2: Harry Hendricks WAL
Fourth Official: Bryn Markham-Jones WAL
Referee Observer: Ladislav Gádoši SVK

Gibraltar - Bulgaria
Referee: Mihály Káprály HUN
Assistant Referee 1: Balázs Buzás HUN
Assistant Referee 2: István Albert HUN
Fourth Official: Marcell Derdák HUN
Referee Observer: Andrew Davey NIR

Andorra – England
Referee: Klym Zabroda UKR
Assistant Referee 1: Valentyn Kutsev UKR
Assistant Referee 2: Vitaliy Skoblya UKR
Fourth Official: Andriy Kovalenko UKR
Referee Observer: Marco Fritz GER

Scotland – Czechia
Referee: Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Diego Sánchez Rojo ESP
Assistant Referee 2: José Naranjo Pérez ESP
Fourth Official: Alejandro Quintero González ESP
Referee Observer: Petur Reinert FRO

Switzerland – Faroe Islands
Referee: Visar Kastrati KOS
Assistant Referee 1: Arbnor Bullatovci KOS
Assistant Referee 2: Enis Bejtullahu KOS
Fourth Official: Ilir Mehmeti KOS
Referee Observer: Kristinn Jakobsson ISL

Belgium – Austria
Referee: Joonas Jaanovits EST
Assistant Referee 1: Sander Saga EST
Assistant Referee 2: Veiko Mõtsnik EST
Fourth Official: Tanel Üprus EST
Referee Observer: Andrejs Sipailo LVA

International Friendly Matches – March 2026

25-31 March 2026

Moldova – Lithuania
Referee: Henrik Nalbandyan ARM (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Vanik Simonyan ARM
Assistant Referee 2: Sargis Hovhannisyan ARM
Fourth Official: Dumitru Muntean MDA

Kazakhstan – Namibia
Referee: Viktar Shymusik BLR
Assistant Referee 1: Siarhei Kasavets BLR
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Gusev BLR
Fourth Official: Georgi Chekhovski KAZ

Georgia – Israel
Referee: Julian Weinberger AUT
Assistant Referee 1: Maximilian Kolbitsch AUT
Assistant Referee 2: Mattias Hartl AUT
Fourth Official: Bakari Bregadze GEO

Cyprus – Belarus
Referee: Miloš Milanović SRB
Assistant Referee 1: Milan Šutulović SRB
Assistant Referee 2: Slobodan Pavlović SRB
Fourth Official: Dimitris Solomou CYP

UEFA Women’s Europa Cup 2025/26 – Semi-finals (First Leg)

25 March 2026

Sparta Praha – Hammarby IF
Referee: Eleni Antoniou GRE (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Vasilia Tsiklitari GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Zoi Papadopoulou GRE

Fourth Official: Fabienne Michel GER 
Referee Observer: Gitte Holm DEN

Eintracht Frankfurt – BK Hacken
Referee: Catarina Campos POR
Assistant Referee 1: Andreia Sousa POR
Assistant Referee 2: Vanessa Gomes POR
Fourth Official: Filipa Cunha POR 

Referee Observer: Nelly Stepanyan ARM

UEFA Women’s Champions League 2025/26 – Quarter-finals (First Leg)

24 March 2026

VfL Wolfsburg – OL Lyonnes
Referee: Emanuela Rusta ALB (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mirjeta Salla ALB
Assistant Referee 2: Nicoleta Bria ENG
Fourth Official: Iuliana Demetrescu ROU
VAR: Michèle Schmölzer SUI
AVAR: Luca Cibelli SUI
Referee Observer: Sofia Karagiorgi CYP

Arsenal WFC – Chelsea WFC
Referee: Alina Peşu ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Daniela Constantinescu ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Anita Vad HUN
Fourth Official: Michalina Diakow POL
VAR: Ovidiu Haţegan ROU
AVAR: Lucie Ratajová CZE 

Referee Observer: Caroline De Boeck BEL

25 March 2026
Real Madrid – FC Barcelona
Referee: Maria Ferrieri Caputi ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Stefania Signorelli ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Emily Carney ENG
Fourth Official: Silvia Gasperotti ITA
VAR: Gianluca Aureliano ITA
AVAR: Emilie Torkelsen NOR
Referee Observer: Snježana Fočić CRO

Manchester United – Bayern Munchen
Referee: Olatz Rivera Olmedo ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Iragartze Fernández Esesúmaga ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Eliana Fernández González ESP
Fourth Official: Marta Huerta De Aza ESP
VAR: Javier Iglesias Villanueva ESP
AVAR: Judit Romano García ESP
Referee Observer: Irina Mirț ROU

CONMEBOL U-20 Libertadores Final 2026: Heras (URU)

22 March 2026

Flamengo – Santiago Wanderers
Referee: Hernan Heras URU (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Muniz URU
Assistant Referee 2: Belen Clavijo URU
Fourth Official: Gabriel Mendoza BOL
Reserve AR: William Medina BOL
VAR: Gabriel Gonzalez ECU
AVAR: Byron Romero ECU
Referee Assessor: Manuel Bernal PAR
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Avila ECU