<!– SC_OFF –><div class=”md”><p>Hi guys, it's the best league in the world and its shenanigans again! </p>
<p>I want to tell you about what happened in Polish Ekstraklasa this week – we'll focus on Podolski drama, but we'll need some context.</p>
<p>Polish referees. They are… actually pretty good, even for a European standard. But maybe I should say they WERE, because this season – and especially last few weeks – their actions speak for themselves.</p>
<p>- We'll start for giggles with Bartosz Frankowski and Tomasz Musiał during CL qualifiers. They are among the best, and they are currently… disqualified and lost their professional contracts with Ekstraklasa. Why? Because during the summer, few hours before the CL game they were supposed to officiate as VAR referees, they were caught drunk by police and stealing road signs. Here's more: <a href=”https://www.sport.pl/pilka/7,64946,31264312,dyskwalifikacja-komisja-dyscyplinarna-pzpn-oglasza-ws-sedziowskiego.html”>https://www.sport.pl/pilka/7,64946,31264312,dyskwalifikacja-komisja-dyscyplinarna-pzpn-oglasza-ws-sedziowskiego.html</a></p>
<p>- Before recent international break there was a game Jagiellonia – Raków. In this match, VAR… didn't work. IIRC during all the first half. What's worse, this had effect during the game. The referee awarded a penalty to Raków for an obvious dive on 4'. Even Michael Ameyaw (diver) recently admitted he was surprised his team got a penalty because he expected a yellow card. </p>
<p>- During international break Polish refs got another moment of fame when they called an offside during Sweden – Azerbaijan game: <a href=”https://www.sport.pl/pilka/7,64946,31477627,absolutna-kompromitacja-polskich-sedziow-w-lidze-narodow-cala.html”>https://www.sport.pl/pilka/7,64946,31477627,absolutna-kompromitacja-polskich-sedziow-w-lidze-narodow-cala.html</a> VAR refs who made the decision were also banned from refereeing Ekstraklasa (at least for now). </p>
<p>And now we are going to the Podolski drama. This weekend, Górnik Zabrze played against Piast Gliwice – it's the local derby. The ref in this game was Paweł Raczkowski – the same ref who was the main in Sweden – Azerbaijan game – from the start his form wasn't the best. His help in this game from the VAR was Szymon Marciniak – one of the best refs in the world – but it didn't matter because… there was another VAR system malfunction. For the first 30 minutes, VAR didn't work.</p>
<p>But Podolski drama happened in the last few minutes of the game, when Raczkowski should have all the help he wanted.</p>
<p>Podolski came in from the bench on 73'. During these 20+ minutes, he:<br/>
– showed bras d'honneur/iberian slap/forearm jerk/gest Kozakiewicza toward one of the players</p>
<p>- made an incredibly nasty foul on Damian Kądzior. Should have been red, wasn't even yellow</p>
<p>- Punched Piast's captain after Górnik scored a goal on 89'. Should have been another red</p>
<p>You can see all the situations here: <a href=”https://x.com/mateuszpg1945/status/1860758238062326007″>https://x.com/mateuszpg1945/status/1860758238062326007</a></p>
<p>I should mention that it's not the first time people accuse refs of lenient attitude towards Podolski. There were situations, you could argue that any other player would get at least a yellow card. Here are some examples: <a href=”https://weszlo.com/2024/11/25/lukas-podolski-gornik-zabrze-ekstraklasa-faule-prowokacje/”>https://weszlo.com/2024/11/25/lukas-podolski-gornik-zabrze-ekstraklasa-faule-prowokacje/</a></p>
<p>Heh, even in the same game, a few minutes after the goal, Czerwiński got a red card because he hit another player. Deserved one, but if he got a red, why didn't Podolski?</p>
<p>Of course people were angry, Podolski got some nasty comments, refs were criticized. Podolski reacted to this with a post on Twitter with a gif "I'll choke the chicken". Górnik fans use the word "chicken" as a slur for Piast fans:</p>
<p><a href=”https://x.com/Podolski10/status/1860761629354320044″>https://x.com/Podolski10/status/1860761629354320044</a></p>
<p>At the same time Gerard Badia (former Piast player, legend of this club) wrote a tweet where he said: "Your left leg is good, better than mine, your showcases are full of trophies… but your head mate is empty. You can't become an idiot, you have to be born an idiot".</p>
<p>"Thanks to such tackles, you win a trophy and play in big clubs. Greetings from the Idiot from Zabrze" – replied Podolski.</p>
<p><a href=”https://x.com/Podolski10/status/1860969643478843597″>https://x.com/Podolski10/status/1860969643478843597</a></p>
<p>Podolski got an answer from Piast's account: "If we call injuries to opponents on the pitch trophies, then we can definitely add another one":</p>
<p><a href=”https://x.com/PiastGliwiceSA/status/1860983617947627734″>https://x.com/PiastGliwiceSA/status/1860983617947627734</a></p>
<p>All of this fuelled discussions on Polish Twitter during the weekend, of course. This and refs mistakes, because it was not an only game where their decisions were questioned. Former refs are pretty consistent with the opinion that this is the worst season for Polish referees in years. </p>
<p>The whole Podolski drama severely tarnished his image among Polish fans. He was always perceived as an old-school player, cocky and often a dick on the pitch, but right now he comes off as… well, an idiot. That tackle was terrible, and I can imagine it even could have been career-ending in the worst case scenario. </p>
</div><!– SC_ON –>