Szymon Marciniak returned to Poland. The referee is already confident of refereeing at the next World Cup. “We have reached the glass ceiling, but there is still a lot of work to be done”, said referee Szymon Marciniak, after arriving home from the World Cup in Qatar, during which he officiated three matches, including the final Argentina - France. “It was a great joy. The opening match and the final are always remembered. It's nice that today we are not talking about referees, but about beautiful goals and an amazing spectacle created by the players. Serious TV stations and many professionals sent us messages of congratulations. I have not watched the game yet and I do not intend to watch it right now. We were very tired mentally, less physically, although the game gave us a hard time. I ran almost 14 km. There was a lot of running and managing. It's nice when the players are afraid of you, but at the same time they like you and listen to you”.
Marciniak also refereed France - Denmark (2-1) in the group stage and the clash Argentina - Australia (2-1) in the Round of 16. “The group of referees was guided wisely, intelligently, and carefully. Initially, it was said that we might jump to the quarter-finals. It could have been different. Even one controversial decision could have put us out of the fight for the most important matches”, he stressed.
The next World Cup will be held in 2026. It will be hosted by three countries: Canada, the United States and Mexico. “Collina said that the ticket to the USA is already waiting for us. Now all we have to do is to stay fit and healthy and he will take us on his private jet”, he joked.
Szymon Marciniak about...
... next tournaments:
Because of my health issues we lost some important events, including the last Euro. That is how it is in life: something will be taken from us and then given back. There are still some important finals in club competitions. We take it slowly. We need to stay fit and healthy. Now a little rest and will be back in action because I cannot sit on my ass.
... the attitude of the FIFA referee chairman:
After the final, the first one who came down to us was Pierlugi Collina. I have never seen him so excited. He never hid his great affection for us, but he gave us this World Cup final because we deserved it. There was no bad competition between the referees. We wanted to get the final when the others referee well, because then you show class.
... private notes:
The book is being created all the time; I have a lot of notes. Finally, I set up an official Instagram account so that no one can impersonate it. I do not want anyone to create some bad stories on the side. Of course, we are recognizable now, but for me the most important thing has always been to be normal. There is some truth in the fact that now my life will not be the same, but I want to be the same Szymon who will go to Slupno [a village in Poland] tomorrow.
... cooperation with his team:
You need a good team to be successful. You cannot pat yourself on the shoulder; just tell yourself the truth. I am generally strict, but they are fine with me. “At VAR, we are fine with you, because we are unemployed” – Tomasz Kwiatkowski interjected.
... Emiliano Martinez:
Penalty kicks are an extra game between goalkeepers and kickers. I had minimal resentment against myself that I did not manage to run up to him, but I would not have snatched the ball from him either. I did not think his game would start like that. At the first moment he got a warning from me, because it is impossible to give a yellow card right away. He was laughing too because we had a good relationship after the Argentina - Australia game. He spoke well about us in the post-match interview. But after the Tchouameni situation, I knew I had to be careful. But these are also special relationships that no one can take away from us. This cannot be learned or read from a book; it either is or it isn't.
... Argentine fans:
After extra time, before the penalty shoot-out, a coin is drawn on which goal they will be taken. When I very vividly showed that it would be a side where Argentinian fans prevailed, there was an uproar like Messi's goal at 3-2. These are the moments when the fans can get carried away, and there were times when we did not say anything to each other, because despite the fantastic communication set, we could not hear anything. It even happened twice to have a delayed reaction from the assistant, because it was hard to hear anything.
... gold medal from the World Cup:
It is quite heavy, so I do not know if a Christmas tree branch will hold it up. Pierlugi Collina laughed that his medal was three times smaller and five times lighter. We made a fantastic gift for ourselves, but also for our families, friends, and fans, because it is a large group of people who support us. This success is for all of us, also for PZPN, which creates the right conditions for us to prepare. What more could you ask for at the end of the year, but as far as the end of the season is concerned, we have some plans, but let's leave that for later.
Source: TVP Sport
