Korona Kielce victory and PZPN refereeing scrutiny

Korona Kielce secured a 2-1 victory against Widzew Łódź in an Ekstraklasa match, fueled by two goals from Morgan Fassbender. The win extended Korona’s winning streak against Widzew to six consecutive matches.

The match was marked by controversy surrounding Fassbender’s second goal. Former referee Rafał Rostkowski suggested the result was ‘distorted’ by an offside position, but the PZPN Referee College defended the goal, stating the player in an offside position did not influence the defender or the play.

This incident has become part of a broader scrutiny facing the Polish Football Association (PZPN) regarding refereeing and technology. Paweł Sokolnicki, an assistant to referee Szymon Marciniak, leaked correspondence to PZPN leadership alleging significant issues within the new VAR Centre. Sokolnicki claimed that during the Polish Cup final, the centre lacked connectivity, forcing officials to use outdated methods. He also criticized the semi-automated offside technology (SOAT), describing its current state as making decisions ‘more like fortune-telling than a reliable assessment of the facts on the pitch.’

In response to these allegations, Marcin Szulc, President of the PZPN Referee Committee, stated that while he disagrees with most criticisms, he does not reject all of them. Szulc admitted that during a match between Pogoń Szczecin and Motor Lublin, an offside line could have been drawn more accurately. However, he defended the referee training system against claims of stagnation. Former PZPN President Michał Listkiewicz suggested that Sokolnicki’s decision to use the media to voice grievances might be influenced by his unsuccessful candidacy for the head of referees.