- Rangers faced Dynamo Kiev in a Champions League qualifier in August
- Bartosz Frankowski and Tomasz Musial were named as the VAR and AVAR
- Both men were replaced amid reports claiming they had stolen a road sign
Two UEFA referees have been given long-term bans after being arrested for stealing a road sign while under the influence ahead of Rangers’ Champions League qualifier against Dynamo Kiev in August.
Bartosz Frankowski and Tomasz Musial are used to dishing out penalties in their roles, but both have found themselves in the firing line after going too far ahead of the European match.
Police said the pair were caught on CCTV trying to carry the road sign with another person just hours before the match was due to start in Lublin on August 6.
Frankowski and Musial were fined at the time and are now suspended until June 30, 2025 for violation ‘basic rules of decent conduct’ by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.
“Around 1:40 a.m. we received a report of three men carrying a traffic sign through the street,” Lublin Police Chief Inspector Kamil Golebiowski told TVP Sport immediately afterwards.
Bartosz Frankowski was due to be the VAR for Rangers against Dynamo Kiev in August
Tomasz Musial was originally supposed to be the AVAR for the Champions League qualifier in Lublin
“Police officers have been sent to the scene. All men were drunk and had more than 1.5 per mille of alcohol in their blood. They were taken to a sobering center.”
Frankowski would be the video assistant referee for the match with Musial as his assistant.
The Polish Football Association moved quickly to replace the pair, with Tomasz Kwiatkowski and Pawel Malec taking on their roles.
“I am still trying to find words that adequately express how much I regret this incident and how deeply sorry I am,” Frankowski – who has officiated the last two European Championships – said in a statement.
‘I realize that with one such offense I have ruined 22 years of refereeing and my entire career. I should have prepared for the match quietly and not gone anywhere.
‘As one of the police officers later told me, our prank was spotted by CCTV cameras and they intervened. I want to make it clear that we were not aggressive in any way. These were stupid jokes.
‘We did not expect it to be perceived this way. We had no bad intentions. It was stupidity, a crazy fantasy, I don’t even know what to call it.’
Both officers were replaced following reports that they had stolen a road sign in the early hours
According to Frankowski, the incident was nothing more than a “joke” and a “stupid match” that went wrong.
‘Now that I look back, I understand that it wasn’t a very smart idea. “It was a sign next to where roadworks were being carried out and we were passing by,” he added.
‘I’m very sorry this happened. And on a purely human level, it sucked, because I know my unfortunate behavior will cast a shadow on many years of hard work.
“What happened was irresponsible and unprofessional on my part, and I am fully aware of that. “I just want to emphasize that there is no aggression in my behavior, that I have not broken the law and that there is no unlawful behavior on my part towards police officers or anyone else.”
