World Cup final referee reveals the mistake he made in Argentina's win over France

World Cup final referee Szymon Marciniak has admitted he made an error in Argentina's win over France.

The Polish official received huge praise from fans and fellow officials for his assured performance on the biggest stage at the Lusail Stadium.

There was huge pressure on Marciniak, now being compared to the legendary Pierluigi Collina, but he controlled things superbly and got a number of key calls correct in what was one of the best finals in recent memory.

One of Marcinak's most impressive decisions was immediately spotting that Marcus Thuram had dived in the box when most people watching thought it was a penalty.

The 41-year-old is receiving a lot of media attention in his native Poland but although he was happy with his performance, he's not getting ahead of himself and revealed there was one mistake that he feels he made.

It was not allowing the advantage to be played when Argentina left-back Marcos Acuna had committed a foul. France were on the attack and hindsight, Marcinak thinks allowing play to continue would have been the better option.

"Of course, there were mistakes in this final," he Sport.PL.

"I interrupted the French counter-attack after a bad tackle by 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."

In the same presser, Marciniak hit back at claims that Argentina's third goal should have been disallowed.

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

As the ball was bundled over the line by Lionel Messi, some Argentina substitutes were already encroaching the pitch.

French newspaper L'Equipe said the goal was "illegal" according to the rulebook. However, Marciniak responded by getting his phone out and showing a picture of France players on the pitch when Kylian Mbappe scored.

"The French didn't mention this photo, where you can see how there are seven Frenchmen on the pitch when Mbappé scores a goal.”

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