Polish referee Pawel Raczkowski and his group of officials were allegedly involved in a fight with other passengers on their plane to Greece before the AEK Athens and Aris match on Sunday after they were reportedly drunk.

The UEFA-level referee who was scheduled to officiate the Greek Super League 1 play-off match between AEK Athens and Aris Thessaloniki has been replaced by the Greek Football Federation.

With just seven games left in the Super League season, AEK top the table on goal difference ahead of Panathinaikos and three points ahead of Olympiacos.

The bizarre incident involved Polish referee Raczkowski alongside linesmen Radoslav Siecka and Adam Kupsik and VAR official Krzysztof Jakubik all alleged to have been involved in a fight on the plane to Athens.

The referee denies being drunk on the flight to the match – and says he was the one who was attacked by a man on the plane.

“It’s all absolutely 100% false,” Raczkowski said. “We are not drunk, we did not attack anyone, we were attacked by someone on the plane. He told me that he is a fan of Panathinaikos and that he will destroy me in the media tomorrow.

“He then spat in my face and punched me in the back near the head at the airport. Any information you get from this man is not true.