“An excellent performance by a referee wholly worthy of refereeing a grand final. Marciniak was very good at taming the players and releasing authority without excessive gestures. Simply world-class”, praises former German referee Lutz Wagner for the Kicker website in an article entitled “Marciniak on the level of Messi and Mbappé”.
“Imagine the pressure he must have been under. The duel, which was watched by millions of people around the world, could have been influenced by any wrong decision. But his speech was fantastic, ”praised former England referee Mike Dean, who watched the final match directly at the stadium in Qatar, told the Daily Mail website.
Montage of the final match of the World Cup Argentina – Francevideo: Czech television
Marciniak encountered several delicate situations during Sunday’s early evening, which he always resolved calmly and with absolute precision. “He was incredible. He didn’t even need VAR, he had absolute respect on the pitch,” coach Josef Csaplár praised the man with the whistle in the Přímák EXTRA program on Sport.cz.
The Polish referee ordered three penalties in the duel and in particular the first one after a foul on Ángel Di María was called with a lack of feeling for the game and very rigorously, according to the French sports newspaper L’Équipe.
“The foul Dembélé can’t keep up and is behind the player, on the contrary, Di María is in full swing with the ball. At that point, a small touch is enough to throw a player off balance. The Frenchman in defense simply doesn’t he behaved intelligently,” says Wagner. Dean describes the situation in the same way: “Marciniak without hesitation pointed correctly at the penalty spot. Not even a single French player approached him to protest.”
And then there’s the 86th minute, when the French Marcus Thuram falls in the opponent’s penalty area. At first glance it was a penalty, but Marciniak saw that the crash was filmed. “He didn’t even go to see the VAR. He didn’t intend to communicate with his compatriot in the video, there were also many other questionable decisions”, criticizes L’Équipe.
🌏 The World Cup Final in Qatar between Argentina and France was missed yesterday 🇵🇱 by referee Szymon Marciniak ✅
❗️Szymon has been on the FIFA international list since 2011 and this year he appeared in the March FORTUNA:LIGA match during the Prague derby between Slavia and Sparta❗️ pic.twitter.com/MvRzmrQYjz
— FOOTBALL REFEREES (@FacrRozhodci) December 19, 2022
“Marciniak was in a great position and rightly booked the Frenchman,” replies Dean. “Brave but the verdict is absolutely right,” agrees Wagner.
The French media did not appreciate the referee’s work very much, the aforementioned L’Équipe awarded the referee only two points out of ten. On the other hand, the British The Mirror gave the referee an eight, journalists from The Times are also full of praise, and UEFA also rushed to congratulate them.
Experienced Josef Csaplár makes no secret of the fact that winning with two half-time goals is very complicatedvideo: Sport.cz
We also know Maciniak with Czech side dishes. The referee, registered on the FIFA international list since 2011, officiated the March derby between Slavia and Sparta. Even then, there was satisfaction with his performance. “The Polish team handled the difficult match very well,” said head referee Radek Příhoda.
With a little intuition, we can say that Marciniak, with his boldness, strong charisma and rigor with the players, is reminiscent of the current head of the FIFA Refereeing Commission, Pierluigi Collina.
Polish referee improves his psychological skills through the Thai martial art of Muay Thai. Perhaps this is also why he resists pressure from outside and directly on the pitch. He has a reputation as a man who rarely interrupts the game and rather lets it flow freely. “Marciniak has shown that he is a fighter,” Sport.cz editor Robert Neumann told Přímák EXTRA.
