Szymon Marciniak 'breaks silence' as Barcelona call for UEFA to investigate referee over Inter Milan result

The referee who took charge of Inter vs Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals second leg on Tuesday has spoken out after some Barca players publicly questioned his decisions.

Szymon Marciniak took charge of the entertaining clash, which saw Inter progress to the Champions League final with a 4-3 win over Barcelona (7-6 on aggregate), meaning they will face PSG in Munich on May 31.

After Tuesday’s game, several Barca players questioned Marciniak after he awarded a first-half penalty to Inter for Pau Cubarsi’s challenge on Lautaro Martinez.

Barca were also adamant that Inter’s late equaliser shouldn’t have stood after Gerard Martin was felled by Denzel Dumfries.

Barca midfielder Pedri was particularly annoyed with some of Marciniak’s decisions at the San Siro and made his feelings clear after the game.

"It's not the first time this has happened to us with this referee, UEFA should look into it," Pedri told reporters.

"Every 50-50 for them ... There are things that I don't understand and which are hard to explain."

When pressed on the specific incidents, he explained: "In the penalty on Lamine [Yamal], which was after given as a free kick, there's no booking for [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, which would have been his second booking."

"I have come three times to Inter's stadium and extraneous things always happen that don't go our way," Barca defender Eric Garcia said.

All the angles the Pau Cubarsí tackle to give Inter Milan a crucial penalty 👀#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/4Uu19snSal

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) May 6, 2025

However, former FIFA referee Rafał Rostkowski leapt to Marciniak’s defence and shifted blame towards the VAR assistant.

Supposed quotes dropped via a Middle Eastern outlet, claiming that Marciniak had spoken out about his decisions, although the referee has since claimed the quotes were not true in another interview with Polish outlet Przegląd Sportowy Onet.

"The statements published by the Egyptian and Spanish media, which resonated strongly on social media, turned out to be a big lie," the outlet wrote. "A referee is not allowed to make post-match comments about decisions he has made. As Szymon Marciniak himself informed us , no such statement took place."

But, not everyone agrees with his decisions, with former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger explaining how Martinez was “looking for a penalty” and that the “referee made a mistake”.

“It was clear that Lautaro Martinez was looking for a penalty, and in my opinion, the referee made a mistake in the decision,” Wenger told beIN Sports.

“He should see who touches the ball first, who reaches it first. It's Cubarsi.

"For me, it's clear that it's not a penalty, and you can't blow a whistle for a play like that, especially since it looked like a clean tackle. My position is clear: I'm against these decisions that distort football."