Szymon Marciniak, the man who refereed the Argentina Vs France final on 18 December, has finally reacted to criticism he has faced since the match.
That criticism then spread throughout France, and a petition was set up on a French website demanding that the final be replayed because of what was perceived as errors from Marciniak in the build-up to both of Argentina’s first two goals.
In addition, it was then pointed out that Messi’s second goal in extra-time should not have been allowed because several Argentina substitutes had run onto the field of play to celebrate before the ball went over the line.
The 2022 World Cup final referee Szymon Marciniak admitted that his performance in the showpiece between Argentina and France wasn’t perfect, and identified one error that he knows he made during the classic contest.
Marciniak became the first official from Poland to oversee the biggest game in world football last week Sunday.
He has since received plenty of applause from pundits and fans for his performance as well as criticism.
Among Marciniak’s highlights were three rightfully awarded penalties and booking French striker Marcus Thuram for diving without consulting VAR.
Speaking in Poland last week, the 41-year-old dismissed many of France’s issues, but did admit that he made a mistake which cost the French at one point.
“Of course, there were mistakes in this final,” he told Sport.PL.
“I interrupted the French counter-attack after a bad tackle by Marcos Acuna.
“I was afraid that the fouled player wanted to unwind, and I read it wrong because nothing happened, and you could give an advantage and then come back with a card.
“It’s hard. In a game like this, I take such a mistake in the dark. The important thing is that there were no big mistakes.”
