Manchester City vs Inter Milan has kicked off with the referee for the Champions League final a familiar face.
The final is the biggest match in European football – and fittingly, the referee tonight for the fixture is the same man who officiated the World Cup final in Qatar in December. Szymon Marciniak is an incredibly experienced referee, who has reffed at the highest level: this year, was named The World's Best Referee by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS); he refereed his first match in the top Polish professional league as long ago as 2009.
There has been a slight controversy over the Pole's selection as the referee for the final tonight.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Marciniak spoke at an entrepreneur conference co-organised by Slawomir Mentzen, a right-wing libertarian politician and leader of the Confederation Liberty and Independence in Poland. Mentzen has been accused of anti-semitic and anti-LGBT statements in the past – but Marciniak has kept his place as the man at the centre of tonight's showpiece despite some calls to replace him.
Last month, the 42-year-old was the referee for the Champions League semi-final match at the Etihad Stadium in which Manchester City thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 with ease to reach the final of the competition.
Who is the referee for Manchester City vs Inter Milan in the Champions League final?
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referees: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)
Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Istvan Kovacs (ROM)
Reserve Assistant: Vasile Florin Marinescu (ROM)
VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Assistant VAR: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
VAR Support: Marco Fritz (GER)
