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MARK CLATTENBURG: The referee for the World Cup final, Szymon Marciniak, used to be a player, but… every decision he makes during Argentina vs. France will be scrutinized like never before.
- There has long been a debate about whether former footballers should become referees.
- Now we have one in command of the 2022 World Cup final, Szymon Marciniak
- Marciniak was a player in Poland and then moved to refereeing.
There has long been a debate about whether former footballers should become referees. Now we have one taking charge of the 2022 World Cup final.
I know Szymon Marciniak. I acted as their fourth official at Euro 2016 for Iceland against Austria. I remember speaking to Pierluigi Collina’s substitute, Hugh Dallas, after Iceland’s 2-1 win. We agreed that Marciniak had a great future ahead of him.
Six years later, it has the most important game that exists: Argentina and France in the final of the World Cup.
Polish referee Szymon Marciniak will referee the World Cup final between France and Argentina
Marciniak was once a player in his native Poland. The story goes that one day he was shown a red card and he colorfully told the referee what he thought of the decision. The official replied: ‘If you think it’s that easy, try it.’ He did so! He trained to become a full-time referee.
Marciniak may be nervous ahead of this World Cup final. He will know that every decision he makes will be scrutinized like never before and I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a sleepless night, going through his preparation notes, thinking about his game plan, pondering how he can leave the game. breathe.
But Marciniak can be proud to know that his performances in Qatar have led him to this showdown at Lusail Stadium. This wasn’t just knockout football for the competing countries, he recalls. It was the same for the referees. One big mistake and Marciniak would have gone home.
Marciniak was responsible for refereeing France’s 2-1 win over Denmark in the group stage and Argentina’s 2-1 win against Australia in the round of 16.
Marciniak may be nervous ahead of this World Cup final. He will know that every decision he makes will be scrutinized like never before.
But the 41-year-old oversaw Argentina’s 2-1 win over Australia and France’s 2-1 win over Denmark, and impressed Collina and company enough to land this gig.
How I found out that I would referee the Euro 2016 final was through a Skype call with Collina. It was not the best connection. The video kept cutting off. But then Collina confirmed the news: he would be in charge of Portugal-France in three days.
He wasn’t too nervous because he had already refereed the FA Cup final and the Champions League final in the previous months. I had that experience in my back pocket and was confident that I could complete the hat-trick without any hiccups.
There were moths flying all over the Stade de France. Thousands of them. Apparently the stadium lights had been left on overnight, so the moths did what they do and moved in.
Insect invasion aside, the Euro 2016 final went well. My assistants Simon Beck and Jake Collin and I walked through Portugal’s honor guard at the end and Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed my head with both hands in celebration.
Marciniak used to be a player, he used to play soccer in his native Poland.
Marciniak hopes that the players from Argentina and France give him an easy night and, if he is forced to make any decisions, that he can use his experience to call them correctly.
It’s the biggest game of his career and once it’s all over, relief will wash over him. I remember that when I returned to the locker room after watching the 2016 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, the Heineken sponsors had left us a case of beer. It has never tasted so good!
Once Marciniak and his assistants Patel Sokolnicki and Tomas Listkiewicz are back in the confines of their dressing room, I hope they can relax and congratulate each other on a great World Cup final with no regrets.