Officials for Rangers' Champions League qualifier 'arrested' as UEFA forced into 11th-hour change
VAR officials for Rangers' Champions League qualifier against Dynamo Kiev have been 'arrested', according to a report.
Tonight's Champions League qualifier between Dynamo and Rangers has been embroiled in controversy ahead of kick-off.
Dynamo's home game is taking place in Lublin, Poland, due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ahead of the first-leg, UEFA have been forced to replace the VAR officials after a drunken 2am incident.
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According to TVP Sport via Daily Record, Bartosz Frankowski and Tomasz Musial were 'arrested' after being caught by police carrying a stolen road sign while drunk.
Frankowski and Musial, who were both assigned to VAR duties for the match, are no longer listed as part of the officiating team for the European tie.
Polish officials Tomasz Kwiatkowski and Pawel Malec have replaced them.
Rangers opened their 2024/25 campaign with a goalless draw at Hearts in their first fixture of the Scottish Premiership season.
Philippe Clement insists his side will do everything to reach the Champions League.
"We have four really important games to qualify, but all our focus is on the first-leg tomorrow," he said on Monday. "We need to be at a top level in the four games to qualify. I believe we have all the qualities to do that, it is about taking our moments. Mentally, we are ready. It's about believing in your qualities and working hard. Working on the structure to have it clear so we can play with and without the ball.
"We will do everything to reach the Champions League, of course, the Europa League is a strong level, but everyone wants to reach the Champions League. It is the biggest stage in the world.
"These are different games from our league games with a lot of the ball. Dynamo are very strong at holding the ball and making combinations, it is a different style of play so it is an interesting challenge for the players."
Topics: Rangers, Football, Champions League
Nasir Jabbar