Robert Lewandowski was supposed to do his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in secret from the world at a university in Łódź linked to a scientist suspected of trading in diplomas. Now new information is coming to light. – I have not seen him in front of my eyes during my exams, yet from the documents I was shown during the interrogation it appears that he passed my subject twice” – Barbara Mrozinska, a sociologist from Łódź who was previously linked to the university where the captain of the Polish national team was supposed to get his diploma, tells Onet.

Robert Lewandowski, captain of the Polish national football team and striker of the famous Barcelona, had his higher education for 13 years. This is according to official information that he himself has made public. It is known that he started his studies as a 19-year-old in 2007 and only after ten years, in 2017, he obtained his bachelor’s degree. In turn, he defended his master’s thesis in 2020, which was quickly reported by the national media. He obtained both of these diplomas in Warsaw at the College of Education in Sport. This education is not disputed by anyone.

However, two other diplomas were issued in the name of the famous footballer: a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. He was to obtain them at a private university in Łódź, in great secrecy from the world. He would defend his master’s degree during a video conference during Adam Nawałka’s 2018 national team training camp. In addition, both diplomas would be awarded while he was laboriously studying at the aforementioned university in Warsaw, where, let us remind you, it took him as long as 13 years to study.

Could it be that the famous Polish footballer had so much time to pull two courses of study at two different universities in Łódź and Warsaw in between his numerous matches, training sessions, business activities and private life?

Our source in law enforcement familiar with the backstory of the diploma affair, in which Lewandowski’s name appears, indicates that after ‘Lewy’ got his diplomas in Łódź without studying, the footballer chickened out and never made them public.

• The driving force behind Robert getting his diplomas in Łódź quickly and painlessly was supposed to be his wife Ania. She wanted her husband, after he started his studies in Warsaw in 2007 and was unable to finish them for years, to nevertheless have a higher education and be able to go to a coaching school, for example, in the future. The opportunity to get the diplomas became an acquaintance with Zbigniew D., a scholar from Łódź and also a football activist, who was known in the sports community for being able to arrange, among other things, certificates from the university of which he was the chancellor, our informant points out.
• Robert received both diplomas from Łódź through connections, but at some point realised that lies have short legs, and precautionarily never showed these papers off. After all, it would look strange if it turned out that he had been studying in Warsaw for 13 years with all his sweat and all of a sudden he got two diplomas in Łódź. The upshot was that he legally completed the studies he had long ago started in Warsaw, and the diplomas from Łódź were to remain a big secret to a small group of people,” argues an Onet source in law enforcement agencies.

The former chancellor and the secrets of his phone

The mystery of Lewandowski’s Łódź degrees has finally come to light by accident. As we wrote in Onet, in 2019, the police arrested Zbigniew D., a scientist from Łódź, in the act. In the past, which is not insignificant in this story, he was a football activist of ŁKS Łódź, he met many famous athletes, in fact, one of his sons played football competitively. Later, he and his wife did their habilitation in Slovakia, which still raises questions in the scientific community in Łódź.

Five years ago, Zbigniew D. fell for trying to sell a diploma from the university of which he was the chancellor – this was the now defunct University of Health Education and Social Sciences (WSEZiNS) in Łódź. He fell during a police provocation – he wanted to sell the diploma to a woman who was honest and had previously reported the matter to the police. Officers detained the scientist, secured his phone at the time and discovered surprising information in it.

It turned out that several years ago Zbigniew D. had been in a lively correspondence with Anna Lewandowska and with other athletes and their representatives. He had talked to them about supplementing their education.

Among other things, a copy of a master’s degree in pedagogy issued to Robert Lewandowski with the signature of the rector of the Łódź university – Zbigniew D’s wife – was found at the scientist from Łódź in 2019.

Also found were documents issued in the name of Jacek Góralski (former Polish national team player): a copy of his identity card, a secondary school certificate and a bachelor’s degree… in Adventist theology supposedly issued by a private university from near Warsaw. This bachelor’s degree would be defended by Góralski with an 5/5 in October 2017, on the day of Adam Nawałka’s national team’s qualifying match against Montenegro. Poland won 4:2, with Góralski watching the entire match from the substitutes’ bench.

A copy of the matura diplom for Arkadiusz Milik, translated into Italian and English, was also found.

Góralski and Milik later denied that they had received any diplomas through Zbigniew D..

The Łódź university WSEZiNS, at which Lewandowski was supposed to have obtained his bachelor’s degree and of which Zbigniew D. was chancellor, no longer exists. The University of Social Sciences (UNS) has been operating at the same address in Łódź for years – Zbigniew D. became a lecturer there, his wife was the rector, and his son first became the chancellor and now serves as rector. It was at UNS, which was started to be managed by the closest family of the suspected ex-chancellor, that “Lewy” would continue his education in Łódź and complete his master’s degree. And it was this university that, after our 2021 texts, sued Onet and the author of this text.

The Łódź University of Social Sciences is demanding an apology from us, a donation of PLN 30,000 to a social cause and argues that Robert Lewandowski is its graduate and that he obtained his diplomas in Lodz in a legal manner.

Are we sure?

“Lewandowski was supposed to pass two exams with me. I have not seen him with my eyes.”

Unexpectedly, a few days ago, Dr Barbara Mrozińska spoke out on this issue. She is a sociologist from Łódź and the head of a private television station. As it turns out, she has recently been questioned by investigators from Gdańsk, who have been explaining the diploma affair involving Zbigniew D. since 2019 and in which the names of leading Polish footballers are mentioned.

“Robert Lewandowski bought his diploma at a private university in Łódź. I write this with full responsibility, because he ‘passed’ two exams with me. I found out about everything during my interrogation as a witness in this disgusting case”. – Dr Barbara Mrozińska wrote on the X platform.

We called her. As she pointed out, the matter is public, and she spoke up on Platform X out of a sense of decency. On the grounds that many of her students had to work hard to get a degree. First to come at weekends to take part-time classes, and then to pass the not-so-easy exams with her.

Dr Mrozińska taught social research methodology at the now defunct College of Health Education and Social Sciences, of which Zbigniew D., was chancellor.

With her entry and statements for Onet, the sociologist refutes the version of the Łódź university that the captain of the national football team legally obtained two diplomas at the university.

Barbara Mrozińska told us that she had never seen Lewandowski either in classes or in exams. And she would have to have seen if he was in fact her student. Meanwhile, at an interview last month, she found out that she was supposed to have examined the famous footballer. And twice: during his undergraduate and graduate studies.

Every time, the ‘Lewy’ was supposed to get “threes” with her, maybe because she had a lot of demands on her students. In the online documents, next to the grades in her subjects, her signature was not present. It is not known who entered these grades into the electronic system behind her back. Instead, Dr Mrozińska kept paper attendance records for her classes. She never recorded the attendance of student Robert Lewandowski.

According to the electronic entries that Dr Mrozińska saw, at other lecturers in Łódź, the striker had better grades, including fours plus and fives.

• If he had taken an exam with me, he would have had to come to me. Meanwhile, his grade card showed that he passed two subjects with me, which was definitely not the case, I would remember such a well-known student,” emphasises Barbara Mrozińska.

Lewy’s former manager: version about Łódź diplomas sounds ridiculous

In an interview with Onet, the sociologist did not want to prejudge whether “Lewy” had arranged or bought a diploma for himself, or whether someone from the Łódź university “as a gift” had decided to give him first his bachelor’s degree and then his master’s degree. She does not want to expose himself to a lawsuit. She points out, however, that the latter version, that the diplomas were arranged behind the footballer’s back or that someone forced them on him, is highly unlikely.

She also admitted that she once heard from students at a Łódź university that Lewandowski had come to collect a diploma. At the time, she took it as a joke.

Lewandowski’s Łódz diplomas are also not believed by his former manager and now opponent in various criminal and civil cases. It is referring to Cezary Kucharski, who has been on the warpath with the footballer for several years.

• For me, it is unbelievable that in the time I was his manager, he would do some diplomas in Lodz. He had no time for his family and sponsors during his visits to Poland, so how would he find time for some secret teaching in Łódź? It sounds ridiculous. When we were still working together, I knew his every step in Poland, we would set his calendar when he was in the country. All I knew was that he was completing his education in Warsaw. That official BA he wrote about himself – ‘RL9. The road to fame”, was printed and bound by an employee of our office. Robert did not do anything in Poland without our knowledge, so he certainly did not travel to Łódź for lectures and exams,” Cezary Kucharski tells Onet.

Difficult questions for the Lewandowski family

When we were collecting material for the first text on the graduation affair in 2021, we called Anna Lewandowska. She was the one who, according to Onet’s findings, had corresponded with the suspected scientist Zbigniew D. and had met him at the National Stadium on the occasion of a national team match, discussed collecting a briefcase with contents not mentioned in the correspondence. Lewandowska immediately referred us to her manager, who referred us to Monika Bondarowicz, who was then in charge of the Lewandowski family’s PR. When asked about ‘Lewy’s’ education in 2021, Bondarowicz answered evasively.

The diploma affair, which we revealed, went quiet for a while. Only the prosecutor’s office tried hard to establish who Onet’s source was. It questioned many people, including the author of the article. In turn, lawyers for Zbigniew D. and his family began preparing a lawsuit against our editorial office.

The topic returned in February 2024. At that time, the Central Anticorruption Bureau detained Zbigniew D., a scientist from Łódź, the same one who allegedly arranged the diploma for ‘Lewy’. Zbigniew D. was arrested in February in the notorious Collegium Humanum affair involving the issuing of fake MBA diplomas. According to investigators, he was supposed to be an intermediary in this corrupt procedure, the ‘mastermind’ of which was supposed to be the rector of the university, Paweł C.

When we described Zbigniew D.’s new troubles in February in Onet and reminded readers that he had previously arranged suspicious diplomas for leading Polish footballers, representatives of Robert Lewandowski spoke out in the media.

Dealing with the national team captain’s PR, Artur Adamowicz announced that the footballer had those diplomas that were officially known – that is, those from Warsaw. Lewandowski was only supposed to learn about the appearance of his name in the context of the Łódź university, as his spokesman assured him, from an Onet publication in 2021.

Has ‘Lewy’ bought a degree? Footballer again avoids the answer

This time we turned to Lewandowski’s representatives after Dr Barbara Mrozińska’s post. Among other things, we asked the following questions:

• Did Lewandowski really buy a diploma at a Łódź university, as the sociologist publicly indicated?
• Why was “Lewy” visiting a Łódź university linked to a suspicious scientist? The proof is in his photo, which we have seen.
• How does the footballer explain the fact that he has marks from exams he did not appear for?
• Why was the athlete’s wife in correspondence with the suspected academic Zbigniew D. and several years ago arranged to meet him and collect his portfolio?
• Does Robert Lewandowski have diplomas from Łódź and, if so, why has he never boasted about them?

The ‘Lewy’s’ PR officer Artur Adamowicz replied to us that, following our questions, Lewandowski’s representatives “confirmed that he has witness status in the case” and wants to answer the prosecution’s questions first, although the date of the hearing is not yet known. He also provided a brief comment from Kamil Gorzelnik, Lewandowski’s lawyer.

“In response to the questions raised, I would like to inform you that in the case concerning the University of Social Sciences in Łódź, Robert Lewandowski has the status of a witness and will answer all questions from the relevant authorities at an agreed date. Robert Lewandowski has nothing to hide in this case and is keen to have it fully cleared up as part of the ongoing proceedings.” – this is the official position of the footballer’s lawyer.

This position is surprising, as Lewandowski can hardly be said to be a witness in the case. Onet’s information shows that he has not been summoned for questioning to date.

So why are Lewandowski’s representatives claiming that he is a witness and that he would be waiting for a date to be set for the hearing? Is this another ploy to avoid answering our questions? Lewandowski’s representatives have chosen to remain silent – they have not explained on what basis they claim and how they have ‘confirmed’ that the footballer has witness status in the ongoing investigation.

A spokeswoman for the Gdańsk prosecutor’s office Grażyna Wawryniuk, in turn, told Onet that Lewandowski has not been questioned so far. And will he be, e.g. as a witness? The spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office replied that she was not aware of the footballer being summoned for questioning, moreover, the public prosecutor’s office, due to the good of the investigation, is not in the habit of announcing in advance whether it will question someone or not.

University from Łódź: ‘Lewy’ studied with us, but didn’t want to brag about it

For the time being, the University of Social Sciences in Łódź has presented its position on Lewandowski’s diplomas. It had already taken Onet and the author of this text to court many months ago. The university associated with the scientist suspected of diploma trafficking argues that “Lewy” first did his bachelor’s degree at the WSEZiNS university in Łódź, where Zbigniew D. was chancellor. Then, on 24 March 2018, he defended his master’s thesis at the University of Social Sciences, whose rector was the scientist’s wife.

He was due to defend his master’s thesis during the national team’s training camp before the World Cup in Russia, one day after losing a friendly match against Nigeria and three days before winning a match against South Korea. The footballer, according to the university, defended himself via video conference, and afterwards asked not to make publicity that he had just become a master teacher.

Moreover, the university points out that Lewandowski’s Łódź diploma has been recorded in the POL-on database, which is, among other things, a record of certificates obtained by Polish students. In addition, the footballer’s diploma has its own number, and in his personal file are ‘Lewy’s’ bachelor’s and master’s theses, checked, by the way, in an anti-plagiarism programme.

As witnesses to confirm this version, the Łódź university wants to call… the suspected scientist Zbigniew D., his wife Urszula, who is also facing charges, and Anna and Robert Lewandowski, as well as their close friend, the doctor Emil Jędrzejewski. The medic, as he himself had previously argued in an interview with Onet, was said to have supplied the Łódź university with documents relating to Lewandowski’s education and assured us that ‘Lewy’ had certainly studied there.

At the same time, the university wants the trial against our editorial to take place behind closed doors, without the participation of other media, in secrecy from the public. It explains this by its concern for the secrets of the company – the university – and by the fact that coverage of the trial could jeopardise UNS’s personal assets.

The university would also like to present a copy of Lewandowski’s diploma to corroborate its claims that it had such a famous student within its walls. One that he has never boasted about, about which he does not want to say a word, and for which he has ‘taken’ exams that he has not been seen in.

Only that the personal file of graduate Robert Lewandowski, as the university emphasises in the lawsuit, was taken away many months ago by the prosecutor’s office in Gdańsk. Investigators do not want to hand them over, because they take the view that the documents “may constitute evidence to detect and prove a crime”.

Two investigations involving a suspected scientist from Łódź

Both investigations, in which scientist and former football activist Zbigniew D. is facing charges, are ongoing. The proceedings at the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Gdańsk, in which the names of well-known athletes appear, are now in their fifth year. According to our information, the footballers have not been questioned.

The prosecutor’s office had previously taken the position that even if the well-known athletes had received ‘fake’ diplomas, if they hid them in a drawer, they had not committed any crime. They would only be breaking the law if they used a fake document somewhere – for example, to get into a coaching school.

Does the prosecutor’s office now have a different view? She replied that she would not give us detailed information on what she intends to do in the ongoing proceedings.

It is known that in the Gdańsk investigation Zbigniew W. has so far been charged with 46 offences related to the forgery of documents. More than a dozen other people have also been charged, including his wife Urszula recently. The former rector of the University of Social Sciences, where Lewandowski would have obtained his master’s degree, is suspected of committing four offences. They relate to the article of the Penal Code stipulating the attestation of untruths in documents in order to gain a financial or personal benefit.

The proceedings of the public prosecutor’s office in Gdańsk have been extended until 29 August and, as her spokeswoman points out, they will not end on that date. Interrogations are ongoing and further evidence is being collected.

In contrast, in the investigation in Katowice into the huge scandal at the Collegium Humanum, Zbigniew D. faces several charges. He was recently released from custody. The case, as the investigators emphasise, is a developing one, there are already dozens of suspects in it. In June, the Collegium Humanum affair saw the detention of further academics – the rectors of several private universities – as well as people associated with the Polish Accreditation Committee, including its former head. Members of the commission, which is supposed to ensure the highest standards in the academic world, were paid bribes to turn a blind eye to various irregularities at universities.

At one time, the Polish Accreditation Commission also controlled the University of Social Sciences. In its lawsuit against Onet, the Łódź university boasts that these inspections were very successful for it.