The Polish referee Pawel Raczkowski, who was appointed to referee the game between AEK and Aris (it is normal for the Greek championship to use foreign judges), missed the match after getting involved in clashes during the plane trip from Warsaw to Athens, having then disappeared.
According to the Greek press, the Polish refereeing team got drunk on the flight and began to speak ill of Greece and Greek football. Confronted by several passengers, the discussion evolved into physical confrontations that later forced the police to intervene.
According to “Sport24”, the referees' state of drunkenness was confirmed by a Greek federation official, who received the Poles when they arrived at the hotel in Athens.
Speaking to the Polish press, Pawel Raczkowski assured that the description of the Greek communication was "exaggerated" and that the Polish judges were "victims of a drunk passenger" who would have provoked them.