2022 WC Final referee, Szymon Marciniak, will meet again Argentina. He will officiate the game between the South American national team and Algeria.
Match #19
Group J
17 June 2026, 03:00 CET
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
ARGENTINA - ALGERIA
Referee: Szymon Marciniak POL
Assistant Referee 1: Tomasz Listkiewicz POL
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik POL
Fourth Official: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh NZL
Reserve AR : Isaac Trevis NZL
Vidéo Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : Dennis Johan Higler NED
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : Mohammed Obaid Khadim UAE
Good offside call, don’t know if it was the on field decision or helped by the audio alert but quick decision.
ReplyDeleteBig offside missed by AR2
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't that big
DeleteClip: https://streamable.com/4ie24s
DeleteAgree from I said it from the first replay but with SAOT 3D it was way different maybe a mistake from the director with a bad stop on the kick of the ball.
DeleteBTW i’ve been really surprised by the difference between SAOT and basic replay.
The offside isn't symmetrical with 16m line
DeleteCamera
DeleteYou’re right
Delete8 min goal by Algeria its clear offside but the ar2 didn't raison the flag
ReplyDeleteI mean, it's inherently under 10cm since SAOT didn't kick in. So not sure about your definition of "clear."
DeleteIt's obvious and if the ar2 relay on Saot to decide he don't deserve to be in the wc
DeleteYC for Enzo at 10' ?
ReplyDelete2nd big tackle, agree missed YC imo
DeleteClip: https://streamable.com/r4kjqp
DeleteFor me a reckless challenge, but this early and with what we have seen is the standard for YC at this tournament? Okay decision but would rather better player management been used
DeleteAppears that he didn’t give the foul because he was giving an earlier careless foul in the sequence. Bizarre decision.
DeleteClear yc missed on montiel
ReplyDeleteClip: https://streamable.com/zza7fh
DeleteCarbon copy of my comment above for the decision 1m earlier. Mmm…
DeleteARG #7 throwing himself to the ground to catch the ball with his arms?
ReplyDeleteYep inderict kick missed
DeleteYC for ALG #2 ? Maybe too harsh
ReplyDeleteYC for ARG #10 ?
ReplyDeleteYC or maybe even RC?
DeleteBut that's ARG #10 so we know different criterium will be.
Interesting to see if some other player was in question.
clear red
ReplyDeleteArgentina can be thrilled that they still haven't received any YC, could have been three
ReplyDeleteare you surprised?
DeleteYC missed on Messi clear reckless foul, nearly SFP but not enough power imo.
ReplyDeleteAs always in this WC refs have let far, far too much through.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet it’s a relatively easy match.
Yep, that’s the story of this World Cup hey?
DeleteJust a real bizarre set of play here that was a mess of his own making.
30’ Foul by ALG, no advantage so no foul given?
https://streamable.com/yg6e01
31’ Messi uses studs on the back of ALG calf/achilles.
https://streamable.com/xnatrr
34’ Careless foul but tackle from behind, no real attempt to play the ball and again just lets it go
https://streamable.com/zqpuzb
This is the issue with letting these reckless fouls go and not showing YC when it is deserved, it gives the players the idea that they can get away with these types of fouls and it just means the next tackle ends up being worse than before 30’ -> 31’
Agree, easy match thus far but foul recognition issues
Looking like another wc where argentina gets favored
ReplyDeleteYc missed again
ReplyDeleteMarciniak has left his cards at home
ReplyDeleteALG #17 2 SPA no card...
ReplyDeleteSimon forget his card at dressing room
ReplyDeleteAwful half technically. High respect on the FOP as always but there’s should have been 2 yellows each, Messi’s really close to red
ReplyDeleteA solid performance from Marciniak in the first half, proving that he is capable of going all the way in the tournament, with the exception of the yellow card shown to Messi for a reckless challenge.
ReplyDeleteSolid performance ????
DeleteI really have to disagree. I understand that he has managed the players well as there seem to be no complaints and match under control but I think from a technical standpoint, many observers on here are disappointed.
DeleteSolid ? Solid to let whatever they want to Argentinian players ?
DeleteAlso reckless use of arm by Algeria player shortly before half, no caution
ReplyDeleteWell someone has to kill someone at this WC for a card,there is no other way.
ReplyDelete+1 Clear directive from FIFA towards referees = we don’t want to see YC
DeleteYes. And shameful instructions by FIFA. This is not serving football…
DeleteBut also, it depends who will kill.
DeleteIf Messi makes killing tackle,no action will be done.
If someone like Casemiro or someone else does that,RC no doubt.
Fernández with another foul...
ReplyDeleteClear foul missed, harm in the head, really surprise by his poor foul detection
ReplyDeleteAgree, it hasn’t been great
Delete53’ Arm to face, no foul
https://streamable.com/qg9v32
Reckless use of arm by ARG24 no foul called
ReplyDelete45+4’ Missed SPA + YC
ReplyDeletehttps://streamable.com/cen6ae
ALG defender looked surprised, we all had the same look on our face when no YC shown. Poor
With all these recent comments, here's the question: does it surprise you to see Marciniak refereeing the opening game for this team? There are too many undetected fouls.
ReplyDeleteWith his history of appointments, I’m not surprised he was given this game. The game has been managed okay, no massive incidents and no controversy, so FIFA happy. He is one of the top referees of the world, so these types of games will always be given to the better referees.
DeleteIt’s hard for me to consider this a good performance even okay if we can’t get the basics of foul detection right let alone the correct classification of these fouls
With all the respect to marchniak but he had no tempo today with many faoul missed and cards the long period away it's very clear on his performance
ReplyDeleteI don’t know what you think but he does not feel at his best physically, not a lot of intense runs.
DeleteYep he was some hie limping
DeleteCésar Ramos, Alireza Faghani and Szymon Marciniak seem to carry the philosophy associated with Collina and Busacca. Their approach emphasizes allowing the game to flow, avoiding whistles for every minor contact, and keeping cards in their pocket as long as the match remains manageable. The idea is that the referee should control the game without becoming its main character, intervening only when necessary and preserving the players’ influence on the contest.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI'm reading a lot, not posting much since I agree or don't have any new insights to add. But in this case I find the reactions on the situation in '30 with the fould of ARG #10 Messi quite mild. I see some reactions in missed YC. But when I look at the matches in europe these situations have been VAR stuff and at least in the Netherlands we've seen more than once a RC for these kind of fouls.
ReplyDeleteEndagering the health of the opponent. The ball couldn't be played. Hits the opponent with the studs on the back side of his leg (calf).
To me it looked that both Marciniak and the VAR didn't want to start their match with a RC for one of the big stars or at least totally missed the seriousness of the situation.
So for me a missed RC would or needed to be possible. I'm wondering who has different opionins or shares the missed RC theory.
Clear red card for Messi. A kick to the Achilles tendon with no chance of playing the ball.
DeleteI disagree with the red. The Algerian player is already falling without any reason in front of the Argentinian player, who than unavoidably and unintentionally comes in contact with an unnatural low Achilles. The Argentinian player does not make any extra movement to hit the player, just in his running motion. For me yellow is the right choice.
Deletehttps://x.com/touchminex/status/2067155935785844883?s=46&t=Ok5OCp_U1mZPFDKlm4EOGQ « Unintentionally » ? Come on…Crystal Red card missed by Marciniak and VAR…
DeleteJust compare this challenge with Pinheiro’s straight RC (SFP) in Juventus-Galatasaray. Nothing to add from my side.
Delete"who than unavoidably and unintentionally comes in contact" :)
DeleteTell me you never played/refereed football on top level, without telling me
101% intentionally and malice. Besides, it is tackle from behind with minimal chance to play the ball. RC everyday
Agree.
DeleteAccording to archive var
ReplyDeleteThe first goal scored by Messi is right and there is no offside
The goal scored by Algeria the var didn't chose the right moment when the ball was already kicked
And Messi need to be send off
That guy isn’t thrustworthy and you shouldn’t care too much about what he/she says.
DeleteIt's a disgraceful performance, but of course those who are fans of a few referees will remain silen :)
ReplyDeleteYes this was the worst performance so far
ReplyDeleteChefren what do you make of the Messi incident in simple terms?
ReplyDeleteAnd Mikeal as well or
DeleteI have seen all the match now from Marciniak. This isn’t the referee that I know in european competitions. Responsability of Collina and Busacca to this entire parody of refereeing seems clear : give us back our referees to liberty and braveness FIFA ! What a shame ! Poor performance by polish ref. But, is it really his fault ?
ReplyDeleteLots of silence from the trolls ovet this Marciniak's performance lol
ReplyDelete+1 nailed indeed 🙌
DeleteFirst shame upon all of you who commented missed YC for Messi, selling a such wrong narrative to the blog (readers) you had convinced me but watching all replays over again it was a crystal clear RC missed involving the best referee and the best player how embarrassing can this get from here.
ReplyDeleteAnd this silence from the most recent commenters (trolls), speaks volumes and how big controversy this was, also impacting the outcome of the match unbelievable for sure a tournament with the best VAR in the world no shortage to big controversies.
Thanks to (M) and ( HB2300) for spotting the incident live.
No wonder (Fab GX) decrease in his commenting but Sir, we still need neutral contributors like you and they're a few on the blog so please don't be shy of your own opinions and observations.
By the way, remember Arsenal vs Burnley matchday 37 in the premier league Havertz incident which we all agreed on RC, this Messi challenge was worse and you all know the truth deep down.
DeleteYellow is understandable, red is acceptable. No card is the problem. Force wasn’t excessive. Didn’t really endanger his safety because half the foot was only planted and it was bent. Compare this with Tah vs Mbappé which was much worse. No red is understandable.
DeleteI hope you are being ironic about the fab gx
DeleteVIDEO CLIPS:
ReplyDeletehttps://files.fm/u/335neykzt6