Some people believe that Lionel Messi’s second goal in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar should have been disallowed by referee Szymon Marciniak.
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In the 108th minute of the match, Enzo Fernandez made a counterattack with Messi and Lautaro Martinez. This one hit the ball with force towards the French goalkeeper. Hugo Lloris managed to position himself in front of the initial shot, but the ball bounced off the foot of the famous number 10, who thus offered the goal which gave the Argentines the lead.
According to the daily l’Équipe, the goal would not have been granted by the official if the latter had applied the rule to the letter. Some Argentine substitutes are said to have been on the pitch before the ball even crossed the goal line behind Lloris.
In the article of the French media, it is possible to read the law 3, paragraph 9 of the laws of football which stipulates that: “If, following a goal is scored, the referee realizes before the resumption of play that an extra person was on the pitch when the goal was scored: the referee must disallow the goal if the extra person was: a player, substitute, substituted player, sent off player or team official who scored the goal; play must be restarted with a direct free kick from the place where the extra person was.
One thing is certain, this historic match has not finished spilling ink.