PARIS – The World Cup final ended nearly a week ago, but the drama surrounding it continued as the match referee showed a photo on his phone during a news conference to respond to claims that Lionel Messi’s extra-time goal should not have stood.

Argentina won the final in Lusail, Qatar, 4-2 on penalties after the match ended 3-3 following 120 minutes of action, with Messi scoring twice and Kylian Mbappe bagging a hat-trick for France.

Szymon Marciniak, the first referee from Poland to officiate a World Cup final, faced criticism from French media that he should have chalked off Messi’s extra-time goal because two Argentina substitutes appeared to enter the pitch before the ball went into the net.

French newspaper L’Equipe mentioned the International Football Association Board’s Law 3, paragraph 9, which includes that the referee must disallow the goal if a substituted player was on the field of play when the goal was scored.

Marciniak, 41, responded to the criticism in a unique manner.

He pulled up a screenshot on his phone that showed seven French substitutes had entered the field while they were celebrating one of Mbappe’s goals.

“The French didn’t mention this photo, where you can see how there are seven Frenchmen on the pitch when Mbappe scores a goal,” Marciniak said as he held up the phone while speaking to reporters.

“The game was never affected. How much impact did the players who came onto the field have? It’s looking for little things. This is not a serious business.”

He noted that while the French media and fans were unhappy with him, the players certainly were not.

“The French thanked me after the game and were satisfied with our performance,” he said. “Everyone came up to us and shook our hands.

“Kylian even gave me a hug. He was very disappointed by the loss. I think it was a human response. I also hugged him and tried to comfort him.”

Marciniak did concede, in remarks reported by Polish media, that it was not a perfect outing for him.

“Of course, there were mistakes in this final,” he said. “I interrupted the French counter-attack after a bad tackle by Marcos Acuna.

“I was afraid that the fouled player wanted to unwind, and I read it wrong because nothing happened, and you could give an advantage and then come back with a card.

“It’s hard. In a game like this, I take such a mistake in the dark. The important thing is that there were no big mistakes.” REUTERS