The World Cup final is the biggest spectacle in football, but Jurgen Klopp may not want to be watching as Argentina face France on Sunday.
The Liverpool boss may have bad memories from the man in the middle, having previously had a run-in with the referee for the final. Polish official Szymon Marciniak has been handed the prestige job of taking charge of Sunday’s game at the Lusail Stadium.
He will be a name familiar to Liverpool fans, having infamously clashed with Klopp during a defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in 2020. The two sides met in the last 16 of the competition in the February of that year, with the first leg held in Spain.
A goal from Saul Niguez after just four minutes was enough for Atletico to claim a crucial first leg win. But it was the performance of Marciniak that left Klopp furious, with the Liverpool boss failing to hide his frustration.
The Polish official awarded 24 fouls in total and even booked Klopp for his demonstrations on the touchline. While Klopp admitted he deserved his booking, he insisted the referee had not been strong enough to deal with Atletico’s notorious tricks.
“You need a really strong ref. So many things happened. They had three players on the ground for a little breath. Sadio Mane was targeted, that was clear. He played a good first half but all they wanted to do was get him a yellow card,” Klopp fumed.