Two Champions League referees have been BANNED from football after they were arrested for being drunk and stealing a traffic sign just hours before they were due to officiate at Rangers

Two UEFA referees have been handed long-term bans after being arrested for stealing a traffic sign while under the influence of alcohol before Rangers’ Champions League qualifier against Dynamo Kyiv in August.

Bartosz Frankowski and Tomasz Musial are used to dishing out punishment for their roles, but both found themselves in the firing line after going too far ahead of the European match.

Police said the pair were caught on CCTV trying to carry a traffic sign with another man hours before the game in Lublin on August 6.

Then Frankovskyi and Musial were fined and now suspended until June 30, 2025 for the violation “Basic rules of decent conduct” of the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.

“Around 1:40 a.m., we received a report about three men carrying a traffic sign down the street,” Senior Inspector Kamil Golebiowski of the Lublin City Police told TVP Sport after the incident.

“Police officers were dispatched to the scene. All men were intoxicated and had more than 1.5 ppm of alcohol in their blood. They were sent to a sober house.”

Frankovskyi was supposed to be the referee’s video assistant at the game, and Musial was the assistant.

The Polish FA quickly replaced the pair with Tomasz Kwiatkowski and Pawel Malec stepping in to fill their roles.

“I’m still trying to find the words to adequately express how much I regret this incident and how sorry I am,” Frankovski, who refereed at the last two European Championships, said in a statement.

“I understand that with one such violation I destroyed 22 years of refereeing, destroyed my entire career. I had to calmly prepare for the match and not go anywhere.

“As one of the policemen told me later, our prank was caught on CCTV and they intervened. I want to clarify that we were not aggressive in any way. It was a stupid joke.

“We had no idea that it would be perceived this way. We had no bad intentions. It was stupidity, an idiotic fantasy, I don’t even know what to call it.”

According to Frankovsky, the incident was nothing more than a “prank” and a “stupid game” that went wrong.

“Now, looking back, I realize that it was not a very smart idea. It was a sign that was next to where the road works were going on and we were walking past,” he added.

“I am very sorry that this happened. And in a purely human way, it was stupid, because I know that my unsuccessful behavior will cast a shadow on many years of hard work.

“What happened was irresponsible and unprofessional on my part, and I am fully aware of that. I just want to emphasize that there were no manifestations of aggression in my behavior, I did not break the law, and there was no illegal behavior on my part towards police officers or anyone.”