The Refereeing College of the Polish Football Association has officially confirmed that a controversial decision in the match against Wisla Krakow was correctly corrected. Their report states that referee Tomasz Kwiatkowski properly rescinded a penalty award for the hosts after a VAR review.
The match from the 12th round of the PKO BP Ekstraklasa between Wisla Krakow and Raków Częstochowa took place on October 24th. In a key moment, referee Kwiatkowski pointed to the spot, believing a Raków defender had handled the ball. The decision was immediately reviewed by the VAR team, led by Mateusz Złotnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz.
After watching slow-motion replays, the referee changed his assessment. "They recommended a video review to the referee, after which the referee rightly changed his initial decision," wrote the PZPN Refereeing College in its official analysis.
The report explains in detail that the ball struck the Raków player's back, and his arm was not in an unnatural position nor used to support his body. Had the hand been clearly away from the torso, the penalty decision would have been correct. In this instance, however, the contact was solely with the back.
For Raków, who lost the match 2-1 after a late goal from Kacper Duda, this confirmation of no error carries moral weight. The team from Częstochowa sits 18th in the Ekstraklasa table with just 6 points from 12 games, having recorded two wins and ten losses. The team has scored 16 goals but conceded 28, giving them a goal difference of -12. They trail league leaders Lech Poznan by a significant 22 points. Their most recent result was a 1-1 draw with Motor Lublin, and they face a tough fixture next against third-placed Pogon Szczecin.
In recent weeks, Raków has recorded mixed results: a 4-1 win over Polonia Bytom was followed by a heavy 1-4 defeat to GKS Katowice, then a 2-1 victory over Wieczysta Kraków, the aforementioned loss to Wisla, and finally the draw with Motor. In that last match, the goal for Raków in stoppage time was scored by L. Diaby-Fadiga. The team's top scorer this season is P. Makuch, who has 6 goals in 12 appearances.
The next opportunity to improve their league position comes on Monday, November 2nd, at their home ground, where Raków will face Pogon Szczecin.
Background and full detail: laczynaspilka.pl
