Veteran referee Szymon Marciniak will take charge of Match 63 at the 2026 World Cup, where Egypt and Iran are both desperately chasing a win to boost their chances of reaching the knockout stage.
Marciniak already made his 2026 World Cup debut during Argentina’s dominant 3-0 victory over Algeria, a game in which he didn’t hand out a single yellow card. It was a surprising turn of events, considering he wasn’t shy about booking players during his first match of the 2022 tournament.
Egypt and Iran will square off in a city with excellent weather, which could help players keep their cool and avoid the kind of heavy fouls that lead to red cards.
Marciniak’s track record
Marciniak averages 4.24 yellow cards per game over his 156-match career. However, looking strictly at the World Cup, combining his three 2022 appearances and his single 2026 match, that average drops to 3.25 yellow cards per game, and he has yet to issue a red card in the tournament.
Szymon Marciniak during the Scotland vs Denmark game
Another key stat that could impact this matchup is his World Cup average of 25.5 fouls and just 0.75 penalties per game. Egypt and Iran likely won’t find much success if they try to bait the referee into calling soft fouls.
Egypt heads into this game with three yellow cards, having managed to stay relatively disciplined during the group stage. Iran has also shown they can play a physical game without crossing the line, picking up just two yellow cards so far in the tournament.
