The 2023 Champions League final game between Manchester City and Inter Milan will be officiated by Polish official Szymon Marciniak at Istanbul’s Ataturk Stadium.

In December, Marciniak had the honor of officiating the World Cup final, which went off mainly without incident. His assistants that day in Qatar, fellow Poles Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz, are present again tonight to run the line. He was the first Pole to officiate a World Cup final.

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Marciniak has faced trouble off the field, though. After expressing regret for attending a far-right gathering in Poland last month and speaking at a gathering led by the movement’s Slawomir Mentzen, he was able to retain his position as the final’s chief official.

He said in a statement: “I want to express my deepest apologies for my involvement and any distress or harm it may have caused.

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“Upon reflection and further investigation, it has become evident that I was gravely misled and completely unaware of the true nature and affiliations of the event in question. I had no knowledge that it was associated [with] a Polish extreme-right movement. Had I been aware of this fact, I would have categorically declined the invitation.

“It is important to understand that the values promoted by this movement are entirely contrary to my personal beliefs and the principles I strive to uphold in my life. I am deeply remorseful for any perception that my participation may have contradicted them.”

Uefa said: “After conducting a thorough review, we have received a statement from Mr Marciniak expressing his deepest apologies and providing a clarification regarding his involvement in the event.”

The 42-year-old official has officiated seven more Champions League games in addition to the second leg of City’s semi-final victory over Real Madrid.