Legia Warsaw official receives death threats from club fans

Marta Ostrowska on the sidelines of a Legia Warsaw match

The murk surrounding Legia Warsaw’s expulsion from the Champions League continues to grow. Reports have surfaced that death threats have been received by the woman official being singled out for the clerical mistake that led to them being booted out.

Bartosz Bereszynski came on as a substitute for Legia Warsaw in the third qualifying round match against Celtic and was later discovered to have been an ineligible player. Despite the player in question having made no significant contribution to the result, Uefa regulations were followed and Legia’s 2-0 victory was overturned to award a 3-0 victory to Celtic.

Legia administrator Marta Ostrowska, who was the person responsible for the blunder, has been taken to task by the club’s own fans. Polish police have advised her to move away with her family until the furore quitens down. According to the Daily Record, Ostrowska said: "There have been occasions where someone called the club and asked for my address. There have been threats. I’ve been told it would be better for me and my family to spend a few days outside of Warsaw.”

The last time the Polish club qualified for Europe’s elite club competition was in the 1995-96 season, and the whole club is bitterly disappointed about missing out over such debatable terms. Dariusz Mioduski, majority owner and chairman of Legia Warsaw, said: "The word disappointment doesn’t portray our emotions. It is more complete frustration and anger. We admit our mistake but the penalty that was received is completely disproportionate and it goes against everything that sport is supposed to be about."

The club’s appeal will be heard by UEFA at 7am on Wednesday, where Legia will argue there are grounds for their punishment to be ‘scaled down’ or ‘nullified’.