France fury: “Messi goal to be annulled”

The transalpine press lashes out at the direction of referee Szymon Marciniak

The epic World Cup final in Doha between Argentina and France, won on penalties by Lionel Messi and co. has a poisonous tail. French press and fans have strongly complained about the direction of Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, guilty in their view of some controversial situations during the match.

In particular, according to L’Equipe, Messi’s second goal was to be annulled because, before the ball crossed the goal line after the Pulce’s shot, some Argentine players on the bench had already entered the field to cheer. The behavior according to the French newspaper should have been sanctioned with a penalty for the Bleus and the cancellation of the goal. France then managed to equalize with Mbappé, before the exciting denouement on penalties.