FIFA World Cup 2022 Final Referee Clears The Air Over Lionel Messi's Second Goal
Szymon Marciniak, his country Poland's first ever to officiate a World Cup final, came under scrutiny from the French media for allowing Messi's extra-time goal as a photo appeared on social media wherein it showed Argentina's subs to have entered the pitch when the ball went into the net.
Outlook Web Desk
UPDATED 27 Dec 2022 10:20 amA week after the much talked about FIFA World Cup final that saw high-octane drama, continued where it left off as the match referee of the game showed a photo on his mobile phone to the press in respond to the claims that Lionel Messi's extra-time goal should have been cancelled out. (More Football News)
Lionel Messi and Argentina went on to win the final 4-2 on penalties but the rumbling continued after the game as Messi's controversial goal was still talk of the town. Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick did not help for the Les Bleus as they lost out to the Argentines.
Szymon Marciniak, his country Poland's first ever to officiate a World Cup final, came under scrutiny from the French media for allowing Messi's extra-time goal as a photo appeared on social media wherein it showed Argentina's subs to have entered the pitch when the ball went into the net.
Szymon Marciniak, the referee for the World Cup Final, has responded to @lequipe’s criticism that Lionel Messi’s second goal shouldn’t have counted:
"The French didn't mention this photo, where you can see how there are seven Frenchmen on the pitch when Mbappé scores a goal.” pic.twitter.com/MW6y73iiLN
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) December 23, 2022
France's high-profile newspaper L'Equipe stated that the International Football Association Board's Law 3, paragraph 9, which includes that the referee must disallow the goal if a substituted player was on the field of play when the goal was scored.
However the referee gave a unique reply in his press-conference. By showing a screenshot of the goal on his phone 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."
Marciniak's comments came after fans started an online petition asking for the final to be replayed as it contained a lot of referee errors and mistakes. The petition has so far crossed 220,000 signatures.
(With inputs from Agencies)
