Who is Szymon Marciniak, the referee for the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup final?
Marciniak, 42, will take charge of today’s final in Saudi Arabia, where Manchester City and Fluminense will both be seeking a maiden global crown.
Poland’s Szymon Marciniak will referee today’s 2023 FIFA Club World Cup final, as England’s Manchester City and Brazil’s Fluminense both chase their first ever global title.
City, who qualified for the Club World Cup after winning their maiden UEFA Champions League crown in June, reached the final in Jeddah by beating Japan’s Urawa Reds in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Fluminense defeated Egypt’s Al Ahly in the last four, in a game also refereed by Marciniak. The Brazilians had booked their ticket to Saudi Arabia by lifting their first Copa Libertadores in November.
Marciniak appears to be the top referee in men’s soccer right now. The 42-year-old has been handed the Club World Cup’s showpiece clash after a 2022/23 season in which he was appointed to the two most prestigious matches in the men’s game.
In December last year, he oversaw Argentina’s penalty shootout victory over France in the 2022 men’s World Cup final, becoming the first Pole to oversee the tournament’s trophy decider.
Seven months later, Marciniak was also the first person from his country to referee the men’s Champions League final. He took charge the clash in Istanbul, which saw City beat Inter Milan 1-0, despite a UEFA probe into his participation in an event associated with a Polish far-right movement in the run-up to the game.
Marciniak apologised for his attendance at the event in Katowice, saying in a statement: “Upon reflection and further investigation, it has become evident that I was gravely misled and completely unaware of the true nature and affiliations of the event in question.
“I had no knowledge that
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