A gigantic scandal in the Polish league. The match had to be interrupted

The inhabitants of Białystok and the team from Częstochowa have high aspirations to fight for the highest goals in the top league competitions. It is therefore hardly surprising that the fans were eagerly waiting for a direct clash between two (out of a total of four) participants of the league phase of the UEFA Conference League. The match was indeed interesting, although the situation at the beginning of the second half of the match was a shadow.

Scandal in Białystok. Referee Paweł Raczkowski against “Jaga” fans

After less than an hour of play, the match was interrupted. Judge Paweł Raczkowski was not indifferent to the offensive banner displayed in the Jagiellonia fans’ section. It was aimed directly at Bartosz Frankowski. In a recent, different clash at the top, the referee wronged “Jaga” by making a mistake in one of the key situations to the detriment of the Białystok team, and soon afterwards three points were finally awarded to Górnik Zabrze, currently leading in the table.

The Jagiellonia fans’ side decided to express their opposition to the referee. Let us add that referee Frankowski apologized for his mistake, although the fact is that it did not restore the lost points to coach Adrian Siemieniec’s team.

A banner with an offensive slogan during the Jagiellonia-Raków match? It read as follows:

“You bet on the Frankivsk match, you f**king man*, you screwed Jagiellonia”

Referee Raczkowski interrupted the match in the 58th minute – for a total of 12 minutes – because of the hanging of this banner. Thus, he expressed solidarity with his colleague and opposed this form of “protest” from the fans in the stands.

The referee of Sunday’s match, in a special, long statement, referred to the reasons why he made such a decision by interrupting the match.

Due to the events that took place during the match between Jagiellonia Białystok and Raków Częstochowa, I decided to delay the resumption of the game after the home fans displayed a banner containing vulgar and offensive content directed at referee Bartosz Frankowski. We do not agree to hate speech, hate speech or any forms of vulgar insults. Such behavior has nothing to do with sportsmanship and fair play, which are the foundation of football

I also want to emphasize that in lower leagues, referees very often encounter verbal and physical aggression, as well as threats and attempts to violate their bodily integrity. This phenomenon is absolutely unacceptable and requires a decisive response from the entire football community. There are issues that are unacceptable and must be met with a clear response. The football field should be a place of sporting emotions, not hatred. Everyone who participates in the match – both on the pitch and in the stands – should remember to respect each other

The decision to pause the match was difficult but necessary. It was undertaken to respect the values ​​that should accompany football at every level of the competition. I would like to thank the players of Jagiellonia Białystok for their full understanding of the situation, support and effective action that led to the removal of the offensive banners.

Best regards, Paweł Raczkowski.

The hero of Sunday’s match was Oskar Repka. The Raków Częstochowa midfielder scored two goals, helping coach Marek Papszun’s team win in Białystok. Thanks to this win, the Częstochowa team jumped to seventh place in the table, having 20 points.

Jagiellonia is in second place, with 24 points.