Szymon Marciniak

Szymon Marciniak (Polish: [ˈʂɨmɔn marˈt͡ɕiɲak]; born 7 January 1981) is a Polish professional football referee. He is considered one of the most highly rated international referees of his generation.[1][2] He refereed the 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France on 18 December 2022 in Lusail, Qatar, as well as the 2018 UEFA Super Cup between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.[3] In 2023, he was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).[4]

Szymon Marciniak
Marciniak at the FIFA World Cup
Born (1981-01-07) 7 January 1981
Płock, Poland
Domestic
Years League Role
2009–present Ekstraklasa Referee
International
Years League Role
2011–present FIFA listed Referee

Early career

Marciniak was born in 1981 in Płock, Poland. The first sport he practiced in his youth was cycling. He changed this sport for football at the age of 15.[5] He played in the junior squad of Wisła Płock claiming the fourth place at the Polish Junior Championships with the team.[6] He also briefly played for the German Regionalliga club VfB Annaberg-Buchholz.[7] He began his career as a football referee at the age of 21. Initially, he combined refereeing football matches with playing as an amateur footballer. In 2006, he switched to working as a football referee professionally.[8]

He refereed his first match in the top Polish professional league in 2009 at the GKS Bełchatów stadium (match between GKS Bełchatów and Odra Wodzisław Śląski). Since then, he has refereed more than 300 matches in Ekstraklasa having been appointed the head referee in the 2016 Polish Cup final match as well as the 2017 Polish SuperCup.[9][10]

As of 2021, he has given 1212 yellow cards (on average four yellow cards per game), 79 red cards and has awarded 131 penalty kicks in over 300 Ekstraklasa matches he has refereed.[11]

International career

Marciniak became a FIFA referee in 2011.[12] The same year, he also debuted as a referee in the Europa League in the qualifying match between Aalesunds FK and Ferencvárosi TC.[13] In 2012, he refereed his first match in the UEFA Champions League between FK Ventspils and Molde FK.[14] He refereed at 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers,[15] beginning with the Group F match between Portugal and Azerbaijan.[16]

On 20 March 2015, he was appointed to the UEFA Elite referee list, finding himself among the top 27 football referees in Europe.[17] On 30 June 2015, he was the referee for the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final.[18]

In March 2016, he refereed his first match in the knockout phase of the Champions League, a Round of 16 match between Real Madrid and AS Roma. One month later, he officiated the quarterfinal between Bayern Munich and S.L. Benfica.[19]

He participated in the UEFA Euro 2016 and refereed three matches: Spain-Czech Republic and Iceland-Austria in the group stage of the tournament as well as Germany-Slovakia in the knockout phase.

On 29 March 2018, FIFA announced that he would officiate some matches at 2018 FIFA World Cup along with Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz as assistant referees.[20] He officiated two group stage matches: Argentina-Iceland and Germany-Sweden.[21] He was also selected as the referee for the 2018 UEFA Super Cup final match between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.[22]

On 15 December 2021, he was appointed to referee of the semi-final match between Qatar and Algeria (1-2) at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup hosted by Qatar.[23]

On 19 May 2022, he was selected to officiate matches at the FIFA World Cup 2022. He officiated one match in the group stage (France's 2-1 win over Denmark) and one match in the Round of 16 (Argentina's 2-1 victory over Australia).[24] On 15 December 2022, it was announced that he would officiate the World Cup Final between Argentina and France, becoming the first Polish referee to do so.[25][26][27] His performance in the final was highly praised by many commentators as well as fellow referees including Pierluigi Collina, Howard Webb, Keith Hackett, Lutz Wagner[28][29] and Thorsten Kinhöfer.[30]

Personal life

He has two children with wife Magdalena: a son Bartosz (born 2003) and a daughter Natalia (born 2012).[31] He practices Muay Thai as an amateur.[32]

In 2021, he was diagnosed with tachycardia after having recovered from COVID-19 infection, which prevented him from officiating matches at the UEFA Euro 2020.[33]

Record

Major national team competition
UEFA Euro 2016 – France
DateMatchVenueLocationRoundResultYellow cardsRed cards
13 June 2016 Spain –  Czech RepublicStadium de ToulouseToulouseGroup stage1–010
22 June 2016 Iceland –  AustriaStade de FranceParisGroup stage2–150
26 June 2016 Germany –  SlovakiaStade Pierre-MauroyLilleRound of 163–040
2018 FIFA World Cup – Russia
DateMatchVenueLocationRoundResultYellow cardsRed cards
16 June 2018 Argentina –  IcelandOtkritie ArenaMoscowGroup stage1–100
23 June 2018 Germany –  SwedenFisht Olympic StadiumSochiGroup stage2–141
2022 FIFA World Cup – Qatar
DateMatchVenueLocationRoundResultYellow cardsRed cards
26 November 2022 France –  DenmarkStadium 974DohaGroup stage2–130
3 December 2022 Argentina –  AustraliaAhmad bin Ali StadiumAl RayyanRound of 162–120
18 December 2022 Argentina –  FranceLusail StadiumLusailFinal3–3 (4–2)70

Other matches
2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship – Czech Republic
DateMatchVenueLocationRoundResultYellow cardsRed cards
17 June 2015 Czech Republic –  DenmarkEden ArénaPragueGroup A1–220
17 June 2015 Italy –  PortugalMěstský fotbalový stadion Miroslava ValentyUherské HradištěGroup B0–040
30 June 2015 Sweden –  PortugalEden ArénaPragueFinal0–0 (4–3)20
2021 FIFA Arab Cup – Qatar
DateMatchVenueLocationRoundResultYellow cardsRed cards
30 November 2021 Qatar –  BahrainAl Bayt StadiumAl KhorGroup stage1–060
4 December 2021 Lebanon –  AlgeriaAl Janoub StadiumAl WakrahGroup stage0–212
15 December 2021 Qatar –  AlgeriaAl Thumama StadiumDohaSemi-final1–240

See also

References
  1. "Ekstraklasa. Szymon Marciniak, czyli najlepszy sędzia też człowiek". Sport.pl.
  2. "Najlepsi polscy sędziowie – ranking. Od Mycia do Marciniaka". weszlo.com. 19 February 2021.
  3. "Who is referee for FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France". 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  4. "Szymon Marciniak at the top!". iffhs.com. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  5. "Szymon Marciniak sędzią finału mundialu. Co wiadomo o jego życiu prywatnym?". sport.interia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  6. "Ostrołęczanin grał razem z sędzią Marciniakiem. Grabowski: kiedyś strzygł się na "grzybka"" (in Polish). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  7. "Szymon Marciniak zaczynał od kolarstwa, trenuje muay thai. "Jak jesteś taki cwaniak, to sam złap za gwizdek"". eurosport.tvn24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  8. "Szymon Marciniak: Gdy zostałem sędzią, zrozumiałem, jakim byłem dupkiem" (in Polish). 14 July 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  9. "Szymon Marciniak poprowadzi finał Pucharu Polski" (in Polish). 24 April 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  10. "Znamy sędziego Superpucharu Polski! Mecz poprowadzi Szymon Marciniak" (in Polish). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  11. Łukasz Rogowski (1 March 2021). "PKO Ekstraklasa. 300 meczów Szymona Marciniaka w najwyższej klasie rozgrywkowej". sport.interia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  12. FIFA. "Poland: Referees". Retrieved on 28 April 2013.
  13. "2011/12, Second qualifying round, 2nd leg". Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  14. "2012/13, Second qualifying round, 2nd leg". Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  15. "Szymon Marciniak football referee stats - WorldReferee.com". worldreferee.com.
  16. FIFA. "Match Report – Portugal – Azerbaijan 3:0 (0:0)". 11 September 2012. Retrieved on 28 April 2013.
  17. "Szymon Marciniak poprowadzi finał mundialu w Katarze. Kim jest Polak sędziujący najważniejsze wydarzenie MŚ 2022? [SYLWETKA]". sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  18. "MME 2015: Szymon Marciniak sędzią turnieju finałowego" (in Polish). 14 March 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  19. "LM: Szymon Marciniak sędzią meczu Bayern - Benfica". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  20. "List of Match Officials at 2018 FIFA World Cup" (PDF). fifa.com. 29 March 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  21. Robert Summerscales. "Szymon Marciniak Chosen As World Cup Final Referee After Anthony Taylor Ruled Out". si.com. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  22. "WIELKIE WYRÓŻNIENIE DLA SZYMONA MARCINIAKA. POLAK POSĘDZIUJE MECZ O SUPERPUCHAR EUROPY" (in Polish). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  23. "Qatar 1-2 Algeria". fifa.com. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  24. Jude Summerfield (16 December 2022). "Szymon Marciniak: The referee officiating the 2022 World Cup final". 90min.com. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  25. "World Cup referees 2022: Complete list of officials, VARs and assistants names, countries and languages spoken". Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  26. Seth Vertelney. "Szymon Marciniak will referee the 2022 World Cup final". eu.usatoday.com. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  27. Jaz, Marcin (15 December 2022). "Wielkie wyróżnienie dla Szymona Marciniaka! Polak poprowadzi finał mundialu" (in Polish).
  28. Stuart Dowell. "Poland's Marciniak best World Cup final referee in history, say experts". thefirstnews. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  29. "Szymon Marciniak was arguably the best World Cup final referee so far". Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  30. "Final-Schiedsrichter wird gefeiert". sport1.de (in German). Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  31. "Szymon Marciniak sędzią finału mundialu. Co wiadomo o jego życiu prywatnym?". sport.interia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  32. Leon Czmiel (17 December 2022). "Kim jest Szymon Marciniak? Informacje i ciekawostki o polskim arbitrze". lubsport.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  33. Jakub Maj (16 December 2022). "Mundial 2022. Szymon Marciniak: Miałem chorobę serca. Musiałem zrezygnować z sędziowania". gol24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 December 2022.
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