World Cup final referee admits to making mistake during Argentina vs France
'Of course, there were mistakes in this final'
World Cup final referee Szymon Marciniak has admitted he made an error in the match between Argentina and France.
Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates got their hands on the country's third World Cup, at the end of a thrilling contest at Doha's Lusail Stadium.
But there has been plenty of fallout in the days after the match, including more than 230,000 fans signing a petition calling for the final to be replayed because of the referee's performance.
The MesOpinion petition says that both of Argentina's goals in normal time should never have been allowed to happen and that Marciniak was "totally sold" by the Argentinians.
Some have also pointed out that Messi's extra time goal should have been disallowed because several Argentina substitutes had ran onto the field of play to celebrate before the ball went over the line.
Speaking in Poland last week, Marciniak dismissed many of the criticisms aimed at him, but did admit to one error which cost the French.
"Of course, there were mistakes in this final," the 41-year-old told Sport.PL. "I interrupted the French counter-attack after a bad tackle by (Argentina's) 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."
Marciniak was also happy to address the criticism surrounding the issue of substitutes entering the field of play, pointing out that the French were also guilty of this.
“The French didn't mention this photo, where you can see how there are seven Frenchmen on the pitch when Mbappe scores a goal," he said.
"First of all, to penalise this situation it should affect the game. What was the impact of the boys who got up and jumped onto the field?”
On his reception after the match, Marciniak said: “Friends, great referees from France, wrote to me. The reception was great.
"Many professionals and footballers sent us congratulations and Kylian Mbappe said that we were great referees. What the players say matters.
"The French thanked us after the match, they were satisfied with the refereeing.”
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