Who is Marciniak, the World Cup final referee who used to be 'a bastard' for other referees?

Poland looked forward to the World Cup in Qatar to brag to the world about Robert Lewandowski's goals and the dream of their team coming close to the one that finished third in 1974 and 1982.

They were beaten in the round of 16, but to the rescue of Polish football has come another star, referee Szymon Marciniak.

Szymon Marciniak overcomes serious illness to referee World Cup final

He has been chosen to referee the 22nd World Cup final and Marciniak's appointment is interesting in the context of his father.

That's because Marciniak's decision to direct his sporting life towards football was a huge disappointment for his father.

Marciniak's childhood of cycling

His father was convinced that he had a future great cyclist at home, a child capable of bringing thrills as he did with Zenon Jaskula and his third place in the 1993 Tour de France.

But, one day the young Szymon came home and said no more cycling because he grew to loathe it. What was supposed to be fun had turned into torture.

While his friends would meet up to play football or go sledging in the snow, his father would set a time and place for him to go out riding. At the age of 12, he would do 100-kilometre training rides.

His father had reason to dream, because Szymon won so many races. He was good at climbing and also in the sprint. But his head was elsewhere.

"If you get off, we won't wait for you, and if you cry, take a leaf from a tree and wipe your tears," was one of the messages he used to hear.

When Marciniak was a danger for referees

Giving up cycling and choosing football was met with his mother's support and his father's pained silence.

He was not a classy player, rather the opposite, a warrior. But, he enjoyed football, even if he was a problem for referees with his way of playing and his behaviour.

When today's Marciniak talks about himself as a former player, he does not hesitate to describe himself as "a bit of a bastard" and "an idiot".

And he puts it down to a very simple thing that referees have complained about all their lives: the players' lack of knowledge of the rules.

Those who played alongside him smile when they see what he does today on a football pitch and what he did then.

At the age of 21 he became interested in refereeing, and at 25 he decided it was his path.

If anyone knows his journey well, it is Magdalena, his wife, who has been with him ever since Szymon was that rebellious, protesting player.

Adblock test (Why?)