Szymon Marciniak Chosen As World Cup Final Referee After Anthony Taylor Ruled Out

Szymon Marciniak will be the referee in charge of the 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France.

The Polish official was appointed by FIFA after the identity of the finalists were revealed.

Polish referee Szymon Marciniak pictured in 2017

IMAGO/ANP/Maurice van Steen

Prior to Argentina's win over Croatia in the semi-finals, English ref Anthony Taylor had been among the candidates to take charge of the final.

However, according to The Times, FIFA's appointment system ruled Taylor out of contention based on his nationality.

Is it claimed that FIFA would not allow an English referee to officiate an Argentina game because of the two countries' political history involving the Falklands War.

Anthony Taylor had been one of the referees shortlisted by FIFA to take charge of the World Cup final

IMAGO/Sportimage/Paul Terry

Similarly, a referee from Argentina would not be picked to take charge of an England game.

FIFA's decision was not motivated by concerns that Taylor may have shown any bias during the game.

The intention was simply to avoid a situation where a team involved might complain about the referee's nationality.

In Marciniak, 41, FIFA have chosen an official with plenty of big match experience.

He refereed 10 games in last season's Champions League, including Real Madrid vs Chelsea and Liverpool vs Villarreal.

Marciniak pictured (right) speaking to Thomas Tuchel during Chelsea's game at Real Madrid in April 2022

IMAGO/NurPhoto/Jose Breton

Sunday's final will be Marciniak's fifth World Cup game.

At Russia 2018, he oversaw a 1-1 draw between Argentina and Iceland, as well as Germany's 2-1 win over Sweden.

His previous games in Qatar were France's 2-1 win over Denmark and Argentina's 2-1 victory over Australia.