UEFA announced the appointment of referee Simon Marciniak as referee for the match between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals.
Perhaps the Polish is a bad omen for Real Madrid, as the Royal Club’s experiences in the knockout rounds specifically under the leadership of this referee, the vast majority of which were extremely miserable.
It was Marciniak himself who officiated Real Madrid’s semi-final second leg last year against Manchester City, when Carlo Ancelotti’s squad were crushed 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
Marciniak also previously officiated the match between Real Madrid and Chelsea in the second leg of the quarter-finals in the previous edition at the Santiago Bernabéu, when the club lost 3-2 but qualified on aggregate.
In total, Marciniak managed 7 matches for Real Madrid in the Champions League, of which the club was defeated in 3 and drawn twice, with the only two victories coming against Sheriff Tiraspol and Roma.
As for Bayern Munich, Marciniak managed 3 matches for them, of which Bayern won 2 of them against Benfica, and was defeated once in Spain by Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the 2016 semi-final.
Marciniak is referred to as the best referee in the world in recent years, and nothing is more evident than the fact that he officiated the 2022 World Cup final between France and Argentina.
