UEFA dropped a VAR official from a Champions League qualifying match on Tuesday after he was reportedly detained for being drunk with a colleague the night before.
Polish media reported that Bartosz Frankowski and his VAR assistant, Tomasz Musial, were stopped by police early Tuesday in Lublin, Poland, while carrying a street sign.
The duo was scheduled to officiate the Dynamo Kyiv-Rangers first-leg game in the Champions League third qualifying round. The match is being hosted in Poland because Ukrainian teams cannot play international games at home due to the ongoing Russian military invasion.
UEFA confirmed in a statement that it replaced the two VAR officials but did not provide further details.
The Polish soccer federation said it had referred reports of “inappropriate conduct” to its disciplinary body.
Frankowski and Musial face having their contracts terminated if the claims are proven, the federation said.
When Manchester City won its first Champions League title, beating Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul 14 months ago, Frankowski was an assistant to Tomasz Kwiatkowski, the VAR specialist.
Kwiatkowski replaced Frankowski as VAR specialist for Tuesday’s game. The match ended 1-1.
