Szymon Marciniak will be under severe pressure at the Nou Camp during Barcelona-Inter following controversies in the reverse fixture at San Siro last week. Here’s a profile of the Polish referee.
The Catalans suffered a 1-0 loss against Inter last week but were left furious as neither VAR nor the referee Slavko Vincic punished Denzel Dumfries for a quite evident handball inside Inter’s box in the final minutes.
Therefore, Marciniak will have to handle a quite tricky situation in Barcelona tonight when the Nerazzurri visit Xavi’s side at the Nou Camp.
The 41-year-old will officiate an Inter game for the sixth time in his career, the last one was in 2021-22 in a 2-0 loss against Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 at the Stadio Meazza.
The Serie A giants have collected two wins, one draw and two defeats in matches officiated by the Polish referee.
On the other hand, Barcelona have obtained one win, one draw and two defeats with the 41-year-old on the pitch.
Marciniak was the referee with the most Champions League games in 2021-22, along with Vincic.
As reported by La Gazzetta Dello Sport, Marciniak did not participate in Euro 2020 last year due to a minor heart issue he suffered after testing positive for COVID in 2021. His exams did not entirely convince UEFA, but Marciniak has continued his career in the Polish league and European competitions.
There were controversies last year when he added nine minutes at the end of an Arab Cup semi-final between Qatar and Algeria and eventually extended the match until minute 109. Both teams scored during the stoppages, with Algeria winning 2-1.