Polish ref Bartosz Frankowski has apologised and begged for forgiveness after his arrest shame before Rangers' Champions League showdown with Dynamo Kyiv and explained why they stole a road sign.

Frankowski and countryman Tomasz Musial were supposed to be on the VAR team for the match in Lublin, but were arrested for drunken behaviour by local police and replaced.

The pair are expected to be dismissed by the Polish FA now and Frankowski, who worked at Euro 2024, expressed deep regret at their moment of drunken madness.

He said: "I am still trying to find words that will sufficiently express how much I regret this incident and how sorry I am.

"I realise that with one such violation, I ruined 22 years of refereeing, ruined my entire career. It was stupidity, an idiotic fantasy, I don’t even know what to call it. I should have calmly prepared for the match and not gone anywhere.

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"As one of the police officers later told me, our prank was spotted by CCTV cameras. And they intervened. I would like to clarify that we were in no way aggressive. These were stupid jokes. We did not suspect that it would be perceived this way. We had no bad intentions.

"The prank with this sign was a stupid game. Now, looking back, I understand that it was not a very smart idea. It was a sign that was lying next to where road works were being carried out. And we were passing by.

"I am very sorry that this happened. And on a purely human level, it was stupid, because I know that my unfortunate behaviour will cast a shadow on many years of hard work.

"What happened was irresponsible and unprofessional on my part, and I am fully aware of that. I would just like to emphasise that there were no acts of aggression in my behaviour, I did not break the law and there was no unlawful behaviour on my part towards police officers or anyone. I was not charged with any offence, I was only fined.

"I sincerely apologise to the Polish FA and I also apologise to my family. I understand the consequences that await me, but I hope that I will be able to rehabilitate myself."