Following a Canal+ debate, suspended referee Arkadiusz Kamil Wójcik publicly released internal documents challenging penalties handed down by the League Commission. The fallout connects a disciplinary case involving Jagiellonia Białystok coach Adrian Siemieniec to separate whistleblower allegations of workplace mobbing within the Polish Football Association (PZPN).
The Disciplinary Timeline and Punishments
The controversy stems from the closing stretch of the 2025/26 PKO Ekstraklasa season. SportoweFakty reported that Jagiellonia coach Adrian Siemieniec attempted to establish contact with match official Paweł Raczkowski via Arkadiusz Kamil Wójcik ahead of a May 17 fixture against GKS Katowice. Siemieniec sought to coordinate regarding player disciplinary thresholds to manage yellow-card accumulations. The League Commission ultimately issued a two-year suspended ban and a 100,000 PLN fine to Siemieniec alongside six matches of immediate touchline suspension. Meanwhile, Paweł Raczkowski was penalized with a 50,000 PLN fine.
The heaviest sanction fell upon Wójcik, who received a two-year ban from officiating. As Ekstraklasa official documentation outlines, the League Commission determined that Wójcik actively instructed Siemieniec on how to approach Raczkowski, violating mandatory non-contact rules set out in the PZPN Referee Convention.
| Individual Involved | Role | Disciplinary Penalty | Financial Sanction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian Siemieniec | Coach (Jagiellonia) | 6 matches + 2 years (suspended) | 100,000 PLN |
| Arkadiusz Kamil Wójcik | Referee | 2 years disqualification | None specified |
| Paweł Raczkowski | Referee | None (disciplinary fine) | 50,000 PLN |
Wójcik Reports Referee Board Irregularities to Cezary Kulesza
The intersection of the Siemieniec affair with internal PZPN politics formed the core of an investigative report by Szymon Jadczak and Dariusz Faron in SportoweFakty. On June 24, Wójcik informed PZPN president Cezary Kulesza about irregularities within the Referee Board. A day later, Raczkowski recalled that 39 days earlier Wójcik had forwarded him a WhatsApp message from Siemieniec requesting cooperation regarding yellow cards, prompting Raczkowski to inform Marcin Szulc. On July 1, Wójcik met with Kulesza and disciplinary spokesman Adam Gilarski, stating his readiness to notify the prosecutor’s office. Two days later, Raczkowski transmitted message screenshots to Szulc. On July 7, Wójcik met again with Kulesza, Gilarski, and director Tomasz Kozlowski, where he was informed that union disciplinary bodies might intervene if he proceeded with the prosecutor notification. Two days later, Wójcik filed his notification with the prosecutor’s office. That same day, Gilarski initiated disciplinary proceedings against Wójcik, and Szulc officially acknowledged in a written document that he provided screenshots to Gilarski upon Kulesza’s personal request.
Following a joint Canal+ broadcast debate featuring Szulc and PZPN Vice President Tomasz Garbowski, Wójcik published three primary administrative documents on social media platform X to counter official statements. As reported by SportoweFakty, the released disclosures include:
- Szulc’s Written Testimony: Dated September 15, 2026, acknowledging that leadership possessed WhatsApp screenshots of the Siemieniec communication by July 3, but initiated formal disciplinary proceedings only on July 9—coinciding precisely with Wójcik’s visit to the prosecutor’s office.
- Raczkowski’s Statement: Indicating that the referee recalled the messaging incident roughly a month after it occurred, noting in his testimony:
Since the Chairman indicated the date of June 25, then surely that is the date.
- Disciplinary Application: Filed by PZPN Disciplinary Spokesman Adam Gilarski.
Alex Haditaghi Criticizes Disparity in Disciplinary Sanctions
The severity of the punishment meted out to Wójcik relative to Siemieniec triggered intense debate across Polish football. Pogoń Szczecin owner Alex Haditaghi characterized the two-year ban for Wójcik as an extreme disparity compared to the coach’s sanction, remarking: Siemieniec supposedly initiated unauthorized and regulation-breaking contact with an official before the match and received six matches.
And Wójcik, who did not initiate contact, received a disqualification for TWO YEARS.
This is madness!
Concurrently, media figure Krzysztof Stanowski weighed in on Marcin Szulc’s tenure by recounting historical professional disputes dating back to lower-division officiating, stating: I state authoritatively that when I was a teenager (14 or 15) and wrote in Przegląd Sportowy that Szulc officiated poorly in the third division, he threatened me that he would deal with me. How this clown became the head of referees is a football mystery. I wouldn’t let him referee my dogs.
PZPN leadership maintained during the Canal+ debate that independent disciplinary bodies operate free from executive interference, though public scrutiny over the timing of the sanctions continues to dominate domestic sports reporting.
