The 2022 FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar is being lauded as one of the best World Cups ever. The event was a perfect blend of thrill and action. While some top-rated teams performed as expected, there were several underdog sides whom many soccer fans backed to go the distance. Morocco is a case in point.
All the action and build-up of the 2022 World Cup culminated on 18th December 2022 when Argentina faced off against defending champions France. The South Americans were chasing their first World Cup victory since 1986. The Europeans, on the other hand, were focused on retaining the title of World Champions.
Match Result:
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
Final Match – 🇦🇷ARG – FRA🇫🇷
Sun, 18 Dec 2022 (18:00)
Lusail Iconic Stadium
FT’
🇦🇷Argentina 3(4)-(2)3 France🇫🇷
L.Messi 23′ (P), K. Mbappe 80′
108′. (P), 80′, 118′ (P)
Di Maria 36′#FIFAWorldCup#Qatar2022#WorldCupFinal pic.twitter.com/BKUiTtUhtd— FootballNations04 (@FootNations04) December 19, 2022
Argentina was able to win the final after an enthralling encounter with France. The sides couldn’t be separated at the end of 90 minutes of regulation time with the scoreboard reflecting a score of 2-2. In the 30 minutes of extra time, Argentina pulled ahead courtesy of Lionel Messi‘s goal.
However, Kylian Mbappe netted a third to complete his hat trick and put France on level footing yet again. The game still undecided at 3-3 at the end of 120 minutes, went ahead to the final showdown – penalty shootouts. It was in this high-pressure environment that Argentina prevailed and France crumbled.
While the mega event was a huge global success and left fans satisfied, the same sentiment was not shared by all supporters. Some fans felt that France had been wronged due to some controversial refereeing decisions. As such, these fans tried their level best to peg the blame onto the referee for the night, Szymon Marciniak.
The 2022 World Cup Final rematch is not happening
The discontent of the fans, mainly French supporters, was reflected in an online petition. This petition called for a rematch of the final game of the FIFA World Cup 2022. The online protests began shortly after the final was played. Such was the discontent among French supporters that over 200,000 fans signed the petition, asking FIFA to replay the match.
The discontent of French soccer fans stemmed from objections toward the opening goal of the World Cup Final. The fans, via the petition, have argued that the penalty which led to Argentina’s first goal was wrongfully awarded by the referee. In addition, the petition also accused Cristian Romero of fouling Kylian Mbappe in the build-up to the second goal.
Furthermore, French outlet L’Equipe argued that Szymon Marciniak should not have allowed the third Argentinian goal to stand. This, they argued, was because several Argentinian substitutes stepped onto the pitch before the ball went into the net.
“Los franceses no mencionaron esta foto donde se puede ver cómo hay 7 de ellos en el campo cuando Mbappé marca un gol”.
🗣️ Szymon Marciniak, el juez de la final del Mundial, y su respuesta a L’Equipe sobre las críticas que recibió por su arbitraje. 😳 pic.twitter.com/FkvkMvCqVA
— Ataque Futbolero (@AtaqueFutbolero) December 23, 2022
Marciniak has handled criticism calmly, hitting back by accusing French substitutes of the same offense in the build-up to France’s goal. “The French have not said anything about these photos, where you can see that there were seven French players on the field before Mbappe scored,” he said.
Fans are free to join online protest campaigns. However, the rematch will not be taking place as it stands. The Argentinian victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final has been deemed fair. It seems that aggrieved supporters will just have to come to terms with it.
Petition for a rematch by French soccer fans countered by Argentinians
The French supporters got a taste of their own medicine when the Argentinians countered with a petition of their own. A petition to counter the initial rematch petition was put forth by an Argentinian soccer fan. The fan, later identified as one Valentin Gomez, was the man behind the counter-petition.
Apparently France is not happy that Argentina won the World Cup ‘cause they think the match was not fair and now they’re signing a petition to get a rematch. So what did the Argentinians do? Our own petition called “France stop crying” (I can assure you we’ll win this as well 😂)
— pri ✨ (@pitygacio) December 24, 2022
The “France stop crying” petition has been described as follows by Valentin Gomez: “Since we won the World Cup final, the French have not stopped crying, complaining and do not accept that Argentina is the world champion.”
The counter-petition called for French soccer fans to “stop crying” and accept the defeat gracefully. Close to 800,000 thousand supporters, mainly Argentinians, have flocked together to support the counter-petition.