Six months after World Cup Final in Qatar, Szymon Marciniak will officiate the Champions League final in Istanbul. Let's follow the performance of the Polish in this discussion and good luck to the crew.
Manchester City FC (ENG) - FC Internazionale (ITA)
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: István Kovács (ROU)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Vasile Florin Marinescu (ROU)
Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2: Marco Fritz (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
UEFA Delegate: Jacques Antenen (SUI)
UEFA Referee Observer: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
UEFA Delegate: Jacques Antenen (SUI)
Good luck for marciniak and his team today
ReplyDeleteGood luck to our team.The Referee's Team!!!!!
ReplyDeleteGood luck to the referee team
ReplyDeleteGood luck to the third team 💪🏽
ReplyDeletePour la finale WC 20 : le suédois Gleen Nyeberg dirigera la finale
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to Szymon Marciniak and the entire third team in today's UCL Final.
ReplyDeleteGood luck for Szymon Marciniak and his team ! :)
ReplyDeleteNew orange macron kit
ReplyDeleteOops it's actually red
DeleteWow, new Macron kits???
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get the cover photo? I can't find anything on uefa.com.
ReplyDeleteMaybe one of the referees sent the photo ;-)
DeleteNew uniform guys?
ReplyDeleteThe color eerily reminds me of the 'red' kits of Adidas 2016.
ReplyDeleteDo you think we will get them in Spain for next season (both grassroot and LaLiga referees) or will they just be for UEFA?
DeleteWell, just found this: https://twitter.com/MacronSports/status/1658846656924663811/photo/2
DeleteAntonio Rubinos and Marcos Álvarez can be seen in the photo.
Custom kits for RFEF? That would be a first if it is not the same as UEFA except for changing the badge and UEFA for RFEF.
When it comes to Macron kits, Spain has a lag of 1 season with UEFA.
DeleteSo I expect Spanish referee to stick with the current kits for the upcoming season and then change to the current ones in 24/25.
It reminds me more of the 2008 shirts, haha!
DeleteOh, I just saw your comment. Rubinos in the Macron headquarters... it would be interesting if CTA-RFEF get their own customized kits!
DeleteNo danger of a repeat of the cup throwing from the Conference League with the stands so far awat
ReplyDeleteNot unless there's a champion javelin thrower in the crowd
The new kits: https://www.macron.com/eu/news/the-new-uefa-match-official-kits-make-their-first-appearance-in-istanbul-for-the-champions-league-final
ReplyDeleteInteresting moment in the 18th minute. A duel around the corner-area, quite a heated duel and Marciniak stays away at about 20 meters. I'd personally like to see him more active at such moment, getting close to the action, be preventive. A same moment also happened earlier in the game, but than when Inter was attacking.
ReplyDeleteSorry but Marciniak so far is it on purpose or accident.he us missing lot of small fouls.
ReplyDeleteNow he missed potential YC to Gundogan...
I agree missed YC, he didn’t even see a foul.
DeleteSo far he is getting by on reputation and personality. Some missed decisions and some weird “advantages” that were an attempt to keep the game flowing but didn’t really accomplish anything.
Is that a YC?be serious!!!!
DeleteStuds to foot using a straight leg and moderate-to-heavy force.
DeleteAgree with smala017 on this, I would like to have seen a YC for such a challenge, however let me say this was the only mistake worth reporting for my taste.
DeleteInzaghi steps too often into the field of play. Kovacs went to talk with him a few times but I didn't notice any improvement in his behaviour.
ReplyDeleteI worry by some of the comments I read here. The referee has involved himself perfectly. As has been said before, English sides do make games easier, it is not the foul fest of previous rounds or indeed of other finals.
ReplyDeleteAnother YC missed.
ReplyDeleteDisagree on this one (40’ or so). The challenge was late but there was very little contact and the opponent made a meal out of it. Very good to not show a yellow card here, it looked like he was reaching for it at first. Perhaps Listkiewicz helped him out.
DeleteDisagree as well. I didn't see anything reckless in that challenge, his opponent acted it out a bit there IMO.
DeleteWhat a boring game, nothing to report, except De Bruyne injury...
ReplyDeleteSorry, but after reading some previous comments, we can conclude that we have many amateur referees on this blog.
ReplyDeleteGood 1st half for Marciniak, bravo.
Agree :) Very good performance. Missing yellow cards in a final but with no consequence for match control is masterclass.
DeleteGood 1H for Marciniak in my opinion as well. I don't have the impression that he is missing much. On the contrary, this seems to be his chosen approach for tonight and, frankly, I have a feeling it suits the match perfectly, as the game was more than calm so far. He seems to be staying in the background as much as possible, but was still able to present his authority in an absolutely clear way whenever needed.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I definitely didn't like was the missed foul by Gundogan (probably a YC as well), but that is the only negative moment worth mentioning, at least for my taste.
Good 1 st half for marciniak
ReplyDeleteCrystal clear foul missed in 51 for Inter at Gundogan tackle
ReplyDeleteWould’ve been SPA too, of course, if he gave it. I agree,85/ a foul.
Delete*it’s a foul
DeleteNow definitely a missed foul by Gundogan on Lautaro (52'), although Marciniak's positioning wasn't bad there, if I saw it correctly. A somewhat dangerous moment for match control, if my feeling is right.
ReplyDeleteVery very safe refereeing from Marciniak. Some clear fouls not whistled in the attacking phase and some ghost fouls whistled in the defensive phase.
ReplyDeleteAnd stopping the game for injuries. Even the first YC is de jure wrong/doubtful IMO - a successful block on the ball for Barella, even if the match control situation ‘demanded’ whistling down there. An expectation that Marciniak would be a bit ‘off’ given his trouble with the Polish NGO, UEFA etc, seems to have bourn out.
DeleteStill, is more than enough to deliver a satisfactory/decent performance in this game so far.
I think Marciniak's clear approach about letting the game flow is spot on. But maybe it's a bit unbalanced with 2-3 clear fouls missed and maybe 2-3 soft faults given. Apart from that using his charisma and experience and fully in the background so far which is expected in such big final. (and also no need to be in spotlight so far to take big decisions)
ReplyDeleteFor me it's more annoying again how much is allowed for the benches. Just before the first YC in 58th minute have you noticed when Stones was driving forward the attack for City, Inzaghi was on the line and almost impeding with the game. For a moment it felt like actually Stones almost stopped.
Btw let's praise the selection of Marciniak. This final is not as one-sided as 80% of the people expected. And his year absolutely deserved this occassion.
88', Inzaghi literally stands inside the FoP, and it's not his first time. I can agree with Theref's comment above, there's too much allowance for the benches in this 2H.
ReplyDeleteOoofff, what a panicky end by Marciniak… (throwback to eg. Atlético vs. Leipzig days!).
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion not a perfect Marciniak and I'm sure this was also for the reasons analyzed by Mikael, but enough indeed to ensure an OK performance.
ReplyDeleteNo major incidents, you can talk about some missed fouls and maybe some cards. No discussions about referee, most important thing, that's what committee wants.
Now, the future of the Polish, I'm very curious, it is possible that he will even announce his retirement from UEFA, if not, it will be interesting how he will be appointed on next months. Let's wait and see.
I hope he takes one of the offers from Saudi or China. He most probably won't referee Euro 2024 final. Why stay when you can go and earn something big in a year or two? Very few referees have a chance like this.
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DeleteI think your comment, which I read with distaste, is more xenophobic on this point
DeleteHmm, that was the absolutely minimum of extra added time after considerable time wasting…
ReplyDeleteSorry but another minute was atleast wasted and not added.
ReplyDeleteI thought he judged his involvement to perfection - well done.
ReplyDeleteUEFA do need to take a stand against managers but the showpiece final is not the place to start.
A grand occasion if not the greatest match, well officiated.
Options for the Super Cup?
ReplyDeleteZwayer is my prediction
I will make a prediction after Nations League Finals appointments.
DeleteOverall, a good performance by Marciniak. Not great, but good enough. Of course, we were used with amazing performances in the last two seasons and almost expect perfection, but what Marciniak delievered today was satisfying. If all Elite referees manage to referee like this in their worst days, it would be fantastic. Unfortunately, it is not like that and we had some problems this season. Marciniak was by far the best referee in terms of performances in the last two seasons and many times he carried the hard work, doing great. Marciniak achieved everything with years to spare, wonder what will come next.
ReplyDeleteFor another major final solid performance. Few minor mistakes but both teams should be happy with his job tonight. He had full control of the game. No critical decisions missed. Definitely the best referee in the world now
ReplyDeleteThe diving was ridiculous with two clear simulations in a row and with one of them getting a free kick. And Inzaghi being 5-10 meters outside the technical area multiple times was hilarious. Was there even a 4th official there and does Marciniak feel no responsibility for that?
ReplyDeleteNot a perfect performance by Marciniak tonight, but still a good/decent one. Frankly, I cannot find anything glaringly bad in his performance, anything worthy of significant criticism. Yes, his approach to foul detection/selection was safe in a way, but my feeling is we've watched a referee staying in the background as much as possible and trying to let this game flow, which suited the same game almost fully. Such an approach did lead to a couple of missed fouls (2 of them being absolutely clear and representing two individual incidents which I tend to criticise the most), as well as a few soft ones whistled, however there were no major incidents to assess, while Marciniak was more than able to efficiently use his natural authority and charisma to maintain control whenever the need arose.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I did have a certain feeling he was affected by everything that has transpired in the last few days. Maybe that's the reason for his "safe" choice of fouls in certain moments of the game, a certain "wish" not to end up in the spotlight (at least in a negative way).
Two aspects that I do find to have been somewhat insufficient tonight were control over the benches and additional time management. I can agree with all the commenters stating that too much was allowed to bench personnel (again!), with Simone Inzaghi entering the FoP a couple of times being the most obvious of these allowances; however, at least we didn't have to put up with the unacceptable behaviour exhibited by Mourinho in the UEL final. And, IIRC, Inzaghi did receive a YC in the end (too late, but still).
Additional time management was, in my opinion, another indicator of Marciniak's tendency towards "safe refereeing" tonight, and this is where I completely agree with Mikael (the final whistle was a bit panicky indeed). I strongly believe another minute should have been added, in light of all the time wasted, although Marciniak did produce a couple of quick YCs to maintain control over the proceedings during those last minutes. However, this is where, at least for me, the aforementioned feeling I have about his potential "wish" to avoid the spotlights (negatively, of course) comes into consideration again. Of course, I may be completely wrong about this, but the fact remains that the additional time management was a bit insufficient.
Lastly, let me emphasise that everything written above represents finesses and subtleties of refereeing profession in my opinion. If we look at the overall impression of tonight's performance, I strongly believe that, despite not being perfect, Marciniak still had a good game and managed to lead it to its satisfactory ending. As always, I was impressed by some of the "imposing my authority when needed" moments, where I do believe that Marciniak is, along with Orsato, one of the very best at the moment. In the end, let me state that I'm very glad that he got his opportunity for a UCL final in a year when he was probably in his best form and congratulate him on a fine season and good performance tonight (at least for me).
P.S.: Frankly, I have a certain feeling that we, as a community, have grown a bit accustomed to Marciniak's excellent performances in a way that we almost expected some sort of perfection for tonight's final. Personally, I think he has been consistently good or even excellent for the last two seasons and would be more than happy if all referees managed to perform in such an "imperfect" way, like Marciniak did tonight, when they're having a bad day.
Completely agreed with everything. Some mistakes, not perfect.
DeleteOne thing I want to add though, I think referees deserve more criticism when they do things (perhaps intentionally) wrongly for the sake of "self-preservation." For example, short-changing the added time is good for *Marciniak* (in the sense that it limits the amount of time in which a big mistake can occur), but seems unfair for the game. I would also say the YCs he did produce felt more like a function of the "vibe" of the match rather than of the incidents themselves. For example, the YC to Haaland. Marciniak benefits (from a game management perspective) from matching yellows here, but is it really justified? I don't think so IMO; Haaland wouldn't have been cautioned if not for the goalkeeper's reaction.
But it wasn't a bad game, and his really, really good presence and personality helped him a lot.
Agree with your analyses @Dukat192. Safe refereeing combined with experience made the referee team look good. Couple of fouls and extra time minutes missed in the CL Finals are not elements that anybody, except referees, will talk about.
DeleteWell done team Marciniak!!!
Performance level with Soares Dias’ one in UCL sf1.
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