The referee who officiated the Qatar 2022 World Cup final between France and Argentina, Szymon Marciniak, says he made a mistake while officiating heated final match at the Lusial Stadium in Qatar.
The referee who is a Poland citizen was praised by both football lovers and professionals for his topnotch officiating skill of the final match between Argentina and France, which produced the Lionel Messi-led Argentina side to lift the trophy after a heated 120 minutes play time that ended in a penalty shootout.
Marciniak admitted that his widely praised officiating skill was not completely error-free in an interview with Sport PL on Saturday.
According to the Express UK, French media had slammed him for allowing Messi’s extra-time goal to stand because three Argentina substitutes broke FIFA rules by entering the pitch before the ball crossed the line.
Marciniak reacted to France claim by presenting a screenshot of seven France players standing on the pitch when Kylian Mbappe scored his equalising penalty later in the game.
He admitted that his officiating wasn’t completely error-free while he defends his ruling on the game.
“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.”
Among Marciniak’s highlights were three rightfully awarded penalties and booking French striker Marcus Thuram for diving without consulting VAR.
Recall that Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties to win the 2022 world Cup.
