Tomasz Listkiewicz will be one of the assistant referees for the 2022 World Cup final, Argentina – France. 32 years ago, his father Michal fulfilled the same role in the World Cup final Germany – Argentina in Italy. Interestingly, the father (Jose Maria) of the 1990 World Cup final, Edgardo Codesal, also participated in a World Cup (1966), but did not referee the final. On the other hand, Ramon Barreto (Uruguay) is the only referee appointed to two World Cup finals (1974 and 1978), both as assistant referee.
Michal Listkiewicz was selected by FIFA for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. At that time, there were no specialized lists (the AR role was introduced in 1992), but Michal Listkiewicz impressed FIFA and they decided to only appoint him as linesman (as it was called back then). He started the tournament with the opening match, Argentina – Cameroon, and ended up in the final, Argentina – Germany, along with referee Edgardo Codesal (MEX) and the other assistant referee, Armando Perez (COL). In total, Michal Listkiewicz was appointed as AR to 8 matches in a single World Cup, including both the final and a semi-final, which still stands as a world record.
While his father was appointed based on his individual merit, Tomasz Listkiewicz received his World Cup final appointment as part of Marciniak’s team. Starting in 2006, all selected referees attended the World Cup along with their team. This year, FIFA awarded the World Cup final to the Polish refereeing team Szymon Marciniak (referee), Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz (assistant referees), along with Tomasz Kwiatkowski (video assistant referee). Prior to the final, they only refereed two matches (France – Denmark and Argentina – Australia) involving both finalists. Tomasz Listkiewicz will follow in his father’s footsteps after 32 years in a World Cup final with Argentina.