Referee Szymon Marciniak, however, stole the show with some actions that were controversial to say the least.

The Polish referee, who officiated the 2022 World Cup final and the 2023 UEFA Champions League final, has been criticized hard by Barcelona for the decisions that contributed to Inter winning the tie by an aggregate of 7-6.

These moments include a penalty awarded to Inter to Lautaro Martinez, a penalty that Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal should have received, and the controversial equalizer by Francesco Acerbi in stoppage time.

Catalan media compounded the situation by running stories that claim Marciniak has links to Real Madrid, which led to bias, a claim that Marciniak has not responded to.

Then, out of the blue, UEFA has removed Marciniak from the officiating team for the Champions League final, as well as the Europa League and Conference League finals, and his chances of officiating the Champions League final were worsened, as reported by Diario Sport.

The drama revolves around the Martinez penalty, the foul on Gerard Martin before Acerbi’s goal, which went unpunished, and the reclassification of the Yam Diario Sport.al incident.

Former referee Urs Meier defended Marciniak’s overall performance, but UEFA’s reaction suggests that it was concerned about the reaction and potential repercussions.

Marciniak also discredited some fabricated quotes attributed to him by an outlet in the Middle East and even outlined that UEFA had a ‘rule’ about discussing and commenting on decisions.

As Inter Milan are preparing to face PSG in the final, Marciniak’s absence raises further questions about UEFA’s referee selection process and how controversial decisions at major international events are dealt with.

This could be a turning point in how officials are assessed and what happens when there is a serious mistake at the highest levels of competition, with the topic of Marciniak’s future assignments on the radar.(Managing Barca)