
Szymon Marciniak will take charge of the Real Madrid-Juventus match at the Club World Cup. The Polish referee oversaw ‘Los Blancos’ in their 2-3 victory against Atalanta in the Champions League this year.
Poland’s Szymon Marciniak has been appointed by FIFA to officiate Tuesday’s clash between Real Madrid and Juventus in the Round of 16 of the Club World Cup, to be played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Marciniak, born in Plock 44 years ago and an international referee since 2011, will be assisted on the lines by his compatriots Tomasz Listkiewicz and Adam Kupsik, with Norway’s Espen Eskas as the fourth official.
Having already officiated the Inter Miami-Palmeiras match (2-2) in this Club World Cup, the Polish referee has experience in two World Cups, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, where he took charge of the final in Lusail between Argentina and France, with the ‘Albiceleste’ triumphing in a penalty shootout (3-3, 4-2).
He also officiated the 2022-23 Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan in Istanbul (1-0), and the 2023 Club World Cup final between City and Fluminense in Jeddah (4-0).
This season, his performances have been accompanied by controversy in the Champions League, mainly in the last-16 tie between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid with the disallowed penalty for Julián Álvarez due to a ‘double touch’ in the penalty shootout, and in the semi-final between Inter and Barcelona, which secured the Italian club’s passage to the final.
He also oversaw the victory for Carlo Ancelotti’s side against Atalanta in the group stage (2-3), and in previous campaigns, for example, he took charge of the second leg of the semi-final between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, which saw the Spanish side reach the final thanks to a late double from Joselu (2-1).