Two Champions League referees ‘handed long bans’ after being ‘arrested’ before a European qualifier

Two Champions League referees have reportedly been given lengthy bans by UEFA after being arrested ahead of Rangers' qualifier against Dynamo Kyiv earlier this year.

The match, which ended 1-1, was to be refereed by Polish referee Bartosz Frankowski, who referees in the Polish Ekstraklasa and has been a FIFA referee since 2014.

But a few hours before the start of the match in Lublin, Poland, Frankowski was replaced by the Lithuanian referee Donatas Rumsas.

Polish broadcaster TVP Sport reported that Frankowski was arrested along with assistant referee Tomasz Musial and an unnamed third man after they were caught stealing a traffic sign.

They were arrested at 1:43 a.m. and charged with “destruction of road infrastructure.” Both Frankowski and Musial are said to have had alcohol in their blood.

A police statement said: “At around 1:40 a.m. we received a report that three men were carrying a traffic sign down the road.”

“Police officers were dispatched to the scene. All men were intoxicated and had an alcohol content of over 2.5 per mille. They were taken to a sobering-up center.”

According to TVP Sport, the Polish Football Association has now decided to punish the two officials with a five-month ban from football, with a further seven months suspended for a period of two years.

They would also have had to pay a small fine beforehand, as the Polish authorities charge a fee for using their sobering-up center.

A press release allegedly from the Polish Football Association states: “The Commission has decided:

“- To recognise the liability of Bartosz Frankowski and Tomasz Musial for the act they are accused of.

“- Imposition of a basic sentence on each of the accused judges – a disqualification sentence of one year, with the execution of the above-mentioned disqualification sentence being partially suspended; that is, each of the accused shall serve the imposed disqualification sentence of five months, while the execution of the remaining part of the disqualification sentence, that is, seven months, shall be suspended for a probationary period of two years.”

Both officers were also fined PLN 25,000 (approximately £5,000) each.

SPORTbible has asked the Polish Football Association for a statement, but a response is still pending.