World Cup final VAR Tomasz Kwiatkowski bites back at claims Argentina's goal should not have stood, as he insists his team coped well with “several tight decisions”. Before Kylian Mbappe's late equaliser forced penalties, Lionel Messi's goal in extra-time had put Argentina 3-2 ahead, but the French press were adamant it should not have stood. L'Equipe - along with many on social media - argued that there were Argentina players on the pitch at the time of Messi's 108th minute goal.
Video Assistant Referee Tomasz Kwiatkowski has defended his team's decisions throughout the game. “I had three penalties, which were very well awarded by [referee] Szymon Marciniak. I had two situations with a potential red card and a super-difficult dive of Marcus Thuram and remember that sometimes a dive is in the balance with a penalty.” In a brutal assessment to critics, he added: “When you are sitting in a warm chair, drinking beer and eating crisps, everything seems simple”, tackling the criticisms levelled against the refereeing of this final. “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.”
Source: Daily Mail