The official in charge of VAR during the World Cup final has hailed referee Szymon Marciniak after admitting he was faced with a "difficult and demanding" match.
Marciniak has been widely praised for his performance at the Lusail Stadium last week in what was an immediate classic of a game. He handed out eight yellow cards and blew up for 45 fouls during the final, which Argentina ultimately won on penalties.
Arguably his best decision though was penalising France star Marcus Thuram for a dive, which on first viewing appeared to be a stonewall penalty for many. And Tomasz Kwiatkowski has admitted that decision was the toughest of the entire final.
“Definitely (Thuram’s) the dive. VAR referees often rely on the first feeling. In this situation, it was either a penalty or a dive. As soon as Szymon decided to the dive, I said he had to stop the game and we had to check everything first," he told TVP Sport.
"Fortunately, I could see from the first check that he was be right. The second only confirmed it for me. Well, that means that the decision on the pitch was correct. We analysed everything quite quickly. It was not an easy situation from a VAR point of view.
“There were six goals where there were several tight situations in the crucial attack phase. I had three penalties which were very well dictated by Szymon. I had two situations with a potential red card and a super-difficult alleged dive from Thuram, and underlined the fact that sometimes a dive is close in the balance with a penalty.”
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Though he checked the Thuram dive to make sure Marciniak was correct, Kwiatkowski insisted the Polish referee deserved all the credit. He hailed Marciniak for his performance last week.
“When you’re sitting in a warm chair, drinking a beer and eating crisps, everything seems simple. In addition to the situations that I have mentioned, I checked a lot of small things to possibly help, for example, a quick indication of a number or a small hint about a decision,” he added.
“These are the secrets of our trade that not everyone knows. Szymon and the players on the pitch deserve the biggest applause. I stepped back and was able to help the referees who were there on the pitch.
"It was a difficult and demanding match. For me too, in terms of emotions, the number of incidents and the responsibility involved. I had an easier life, thanks to the fact that Szymon was brilliant.”
Marciniak has come under fire from some in France for his performance, with a petition calling for the game to be replayed reaching more than 200,000 signatures. But the Pole has insisted that the French team themselves were happy with his decisions.
“Friends, great referees from France, wrote to me. The reception was great. Many professionals and footballers sent us congratulations and Kylian Mbappé said that we were great referees," he said.
"What the players say matters. The French thanked us after the match, they were satisfied with the refereeing.”
