Wojciech Liszka

Wojciech Liszka
Liszka in 2025
Personal information
Born (1980-08-25) 25 August 1980
Szczecin, Poland

Wojciech Liszka (born 25 August 1980)[1] is a Polish basketball referee licensed by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). He officiated the men's gold medal game at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[2] He has been a FIBA referee since 2012,[3] and has since refereed over 500 international games and 18 major FIBA finals.[4][5]

Early life and career

Liszka was born in Szczecin, Poland.[1] As a secondary school student he began refereeing basketball games between classes, before formally enrolling in a referee course at age 16.[6][5]

In Szczecin, Liszka formed a refereeing group with friends, including Piotr Pastusiak,[7][6][5] who would go on to referee the women's gold medal game at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[6][5] The group was mentored by Jerzy Buczkowski, described by Liszka as the only trainer in Poland to produce two Olympic referees.[6]

It took Liszka 12 years after beginning refereeing to reach the Polish Basketball League (PLK), the top level basketball league in the country.[5] After four years refereeing the PLK, in April 2012, he received his FIBA refereeing license.[5][3] Liszka has officiated top level basketball leagues in Poland for over 16 years.[8] After attending a referee camp in Montenegro hosted by referees that attended the Rio Olympic Games, Liszka was nominated for the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup.[9]

International career

Liszka has refereed the finals for 18 major international FIBA tournaments, working games on every continent.[4] Major tournament assignments include the Olympic final in 2024 and three Basketball Champions League (BCL) finals in 2022, 2024, and 2025.[4][10] The European North Basketball League (ENBL) described him as "one of the top referees in Europe."[11]

At the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, Liszka was initially selected from a pool of 40 referees.[5][12] He refereed eight games, five in the group stage, and three men's games in the knockout stage.[5][8] He additionally served as the fourth referee for one game.[5] He refereed the gold medal game between France and the United States on 10 August 2024.[2]

Following the Olympics, Liszka refereed the 2024–25 Basketball Champions League final[10] and the 2024–25 FIBA Europe Cup final.[13] He was also selected for the EuroBasket 2025 referee panel.[4] Liszka has indicated he does not wish to pursue a career in the NBA.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Sędzia Wojciech Liszka poprowadzi olimpijski finał koszykówki USA-Francja". PAP (in Polish). 10 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 "France vs USA - Final - Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024 | FIBA Basketball". 9 August 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Dwójka polskich sędziów dołączyła do grona międzynarodowych". PZKosz (in Polish). 20 April 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Polscy sędziowie na EuroBaskecie 2025". PZKosz (in Polish). 23 July 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Marciniak, Kacper (31 August 2024). "Polak sędziował finał igrzysk. "Emocje były wielkie. Musiałem uważać, żeby nie poleciały łzy"". Weszło.com (in Polish). Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Beśka, Miłosz (29 August 2024). "Z tego miasta pochodzi sędzia olimpijski! O Szczecinie i swoich początkach opowiada Wojciech Liszka". Radio ESKA Szczecin (in Polish). Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Piotr Pastusiak". FIBA Basketball. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 Przybyłowicz, Olga Miriam. "Sędzia finału koszykarzy Liszka: chcę pokazać, że trzeba być odważnym w marzeniach". PAP (in Polish). Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Deryło, Marek (29 January 2025). "Sędziował koszykarski finał igrzysk w Paryżu, w biznesie działa równie efektownie. Poznajmy Wojciecha Liszkę". xyz.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Galatasaray vs Unicaja - Final - Basketball Champions League 2024-25 | FIBA Basketball". FIBA.basketball. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Szczecin, Ostrow and Sopot calling: know your referees". ENBL. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Wojciech Liszka z nominacją na IO Paryż 2024". PZKosz (in Polish). 19 July 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "PAOK mateco vs Bilbao Basket - Finals - FIBA Europe Cup 2024-25 | FIBA Basketball". FIBA.basketball. 23 April 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
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