Polish referee Szymon Marciniak has admitted to making a mistake during the final match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup between France and Argentina in Qatar.
Marciniak became the first referee from Poland to officiate a World Cup final when he took charge of the pulsating clash between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium, with the former ending the match victorious on penalties.
The 41-year-old, who became a FIFA-listed referee in 2011, was the recipient of a lot of praise and applause from fans and experts following his non-biased officiating of the final.
During the game, he awarded three penalties to both teams, but it was his booking of France striker Marcus Thuram for simulation without the use of the Video Assistant Referee that raised eyebrows.
Marciniak, however, isn’t resting on his laurels, as he feels he didn’t have as perfect a performance as he would have wanted.
“Of course, there were mistakes in this final. I interrupted the French counter-attack after a bad tackle by Marcos Acuna,” Marciniak told Sport.PL.
“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 make such a mistake in the dark. The important thing is that there were no big mistakes.”
Before the final, Marciniak previously officiated one game for each of the finalists. He officiated a group stage game that saw Les Bleus beat Denmark 2-1 and he also led officiating in Argentina’s Round of 16 tie against Australia, a game that ended 2-1.
