The referee of the World Cup final, his assistant and the incredible coincidences with the shortlists of Mexico 86 and Italy 90

The Argentine national team is preparing to face France in search of the screaming champion in this World Cup in Qatar 2022, and two days after facing a historic clash, the Albiceleste delegation received important news: against the European team, who will play justice will be none other than the Polish Szymon Marciniak, who has already led the national team against Australia in the round of 16.

Since the appointment of the referee, various data have begun to circulate around his training, his career and his background, but none as curious as what has emerged in the last few hours. It turns out that Marciniak, born on January 7, shares a particularity with the Brazilian Romualdo Arppi Filhoin charge of refereeing that final of the World Cup in Mexico 86: both born on the same day, even if Marciniak was in 1981 and Arppi Filho in 1939.

It is known that that match ended with a painful victory for the Argentina national team, which that afternoon, thanks to goals from José Luis Brown, Jorge Valdano and Jorge Luis Burruchaga, became world champion for the second time in its history. For those looking for similarities, this seems to be more of a fluke. This nod excites more than one Argentine, but it’s not the only peculiarity in the list of referee candidates. The other antecedent is not too positive.

To make this information known, it is necessary to move away from the focus on Marciniak. This precedent has to do with assistant referee Tomasz Listkiewicz, who will also be part of the shortlist for the match against France. The protagonist, also Polish, is son of the famous Michal Listkiewicz, present at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on that sad night of 8 June 1990, when Argentina fell to Federal Germany and remained at the gates of its third world championship.

In that clash, moreover, the shortlisted referees were the protagonists, right from the referee Edgardo Codesal He validated a controversial penalty for the Germans, who would end up taking the match thanks to the maximum penalty disputed. After his retirement, Michal Listkiewicz became president of the Polish Football Association between 1999 and 2007. Before retiring from professional activity, he capped off his career by participating in the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

The truth is that next Sunday Tomasz will have the chance to twist history, now with one determining factor at play: the implementation of the VAR. The referee shortlist, made up of Marciniak and Listkiewicz, will be completed by the Poles Pawel Sokolnicki (Assistant 1) and Tomasz Kwiatkowski (VAR), in addition to the American Ismail Elfath (Fourth Referee). The squad will also include the additions of Venezuelan Juan Soto (AVAR), Kyle Atkins (Offside VAR) and Fernando Guerrero (Support VAR).