Polish referee Szymon Marciniak has issued a perfect response to the claims that he should have denied Lionel Messi his second, and Argentina’s third goal against France during the World Cup final. Messi’s Argentina overcame a resilient France side in the final which spanned across 120 minutes and a penalty shootout. The Argentine captain’s extra-time goal too was not enough for his side to claim the honors, as they needed Emi Martinez heroics in the shootout to get them over the line.
Argentina had raced to a two-goal in the regular time, only for Kylian Mbappe to pull his side back on level with quick-fire two goals in two minutes. He rose to the occasion once again in the extra-time, cancelling out his PSG teammate Messi’s third goal which had put Argentina back into the lead. However, the French media and fans have called out referee Marciniak for not spotting an error during Messi’s scrambled goal in the second-half of the extra-time.
Marciniak justifies Lionel Messi goal with Mbappe evidence
Seldom does it happens that a referee replies to the criticism he receives from the fans or the media. And in Qatar, some bizarre officiating was at its peak with the referees pulling out a rabbit out of the hat every other game. Marciniak too felt the heat while overseeing the most important game of the football’s biggest festival, the World Cup final.
His first major involvement of the game arrived in the 23rd minute, awarding a penalty to Argentina for a foul on Angel di Maria by Ousmane Dembele from behind. Although it was much argued and disputed, Dembele knew once he took out Di Maria from behind in the box, the referee was going to point at the spot. However, France too were on the receiving end of the Pole’s penalty distribution, as they were awarded two; one in the 80th minute for an Otamendi foul on Kolo Muani in the similar manner Dembele has taken down Di Maria.
Second was in the 118th minute, in the extra-time, when Argentina defender Gonzalo Montiel blocked a shot from Mbappe in the penalty box. That pulled France on level with the South Americans, who had retook the lead ten minutes earlier with a Lionel Messi goal. However, there have been calls from both the French fans and the media that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s goal shouldn’t have been stood since two of Argentina’s substitutes encroached the pitch for celebrations even before the ball went in.
Marciniak has responded to those claims in the most unexpected and animated way while speaking to the media in Poland. The referee pulled out his phone while explaining Messi’s goal, wherein he showed a picture of seven France substitutes entering the pitch already to celebrate Mbappe’s 80th minute penalty. Showing-off the picture, Marciniak took a dig at the French media, as he said:
“The French didn’t mention this photo, where you can see how there are seven Frenchmen on the pitch when Mbappe scores a goal.”
Mbappe’s goal arrived before Messi hit his second of the night in the extra-time, but the media, as evident from Marciniak’s evidence has ignored the encroachment during the France forward’s strike. The 41-year-old match official however hasn’t missed out on the French encroachment and argued that before Messi’s, Mbappe’s goal should have disallowed, which the French media is ignoring at its convenience.