Last week, Poland rejoiced after learning that a Pole was to referee the world’s most-awaited sports game on the globe. Now that the epic final opposing Argentina and France (3-3) is over, the joy is all the bigger given the remarkable performance of Szymon Marciniak and his assistants. 

On the occasion of the match of his life, Marciniak did not disappoint. Except for somewhat biased and bitter French fans, most of the observers worldwide are unanimous in their positive evaluation of the Polish official. 

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“Szymon Marciniak managed the players excellently. He radiated authority. World-class.” – commented German refereeing committee member Lutz Wagner after the final. 

Howard Webb, a former elite referee, even referred to Marciniak’s performance as follows: “It was the best referee performance in the history of the World Cup.”

The Pole even received the compliments of former legendary Italian referee Pierluigi Collina, who reportedly told Zbigniew Boniek that Marciniak had been “better than technology”. Collina is also believed to have referred to Marciniak as “the second most important Pole, after the Pope”. 

Besides the unique context of the game, Marciniak’s job was made all the more difficult as several critical situations occurred during the game, including three penalties and a simulation attempt in the rectangle. In all of these situations, the Pole showed he was in control of the situation.

As if it was necessary to add to the overall consensus regarding the job of the Polish refereeing team, Szymon Marciniak was spotted consoling French striker Kylian Mbappé – in a gentleman fashion – once the final whistle had been blown. Despite having scored a hat trick and a penalty in the shoot-outs, the PSG player could not lead “Les Bleus” to lift the prestigious trophy for the second time in a row. 

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The Polish national team had a decent tournament. But Poland’s referees shone brightly in front of an estimated 1.5 billion viewers. They will be remembered. Contrary to what French journalists from L’Equipe claim, they were definitely up to the task, even in such a breathtaking final. 

Image: Twitter (@_BeFootball)

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen