Algeria lodge FIFA complaint over refereeing after Messi avoids red card in World Cup opener

The incident

Algeria's World Cup opener against Argentina on 16 June in Kansas City ended in a 3-0 defeat, but the result has been overshadowed by a formal complaint lodged with FIFA's refereeing commission. At the heart of the grievance is a first-half moment when Lionel Messi stood on the calf of Algeria captain Aissa Mandi with the score at 1-0. The Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, who also officiated the 2022 World Cup final, did not show a card for the challenge. Messi remained on the pitch and went on to score two more goals, completing a hat-trick and equalling Miroslav Klose's record of 16 World Cup goals.

“For me, that is a red card. We have various examples from the Bundesliga where that was punished with a red.”

The complaint

The Algerian Football Federation (FAF) submitted its appeal the day after the match, according to a source within the federation. The complaint cites what the FAF calls an "arbitration injustice" and points specifically to Messi's challenge in the 30th minute. A source told AFP that the appeal also references two elbows thrown by Argentine players, one by Alexis Mac Allister on Ibrahim Maza in the 74th minute and another on Anis Hadj Moussa, both of which the federation argues merited red cards.

“The appeal concerns above all Messi's foul, which in the general opinion deserved a red card.”

VAR under scrutiny

The use of video assistant refereeing has also come under fire. Algerian players protested immediately after Messi's challenge, demanding a VAR review, but the officiating team (which included VAR assistant Tomasz Kwiatkowski, also from Poland) did not intervene. The Mac Allister elbow on Maza, which left the Algerian forward on the ground for an extended period, similarly drew no VAR review. Portuguese outlet SAPO reported that the federation considers the non-intervention a threat to the integrity of the game at the highest level.

What happens next

Algeria are due to face Jordan on Monday night in a must-win fixture following the opening defeat. Argentina play Austria earlier the same day. No change to the match result is expected; the complaint asks FIFA for an explanation of the officiating decisions rather than a reversal of the scoreline. The controversy has added to a tournament already marked by several disputed refereeing decisions, according to SAPO, and the footage of Messi's challenge has circulated widely on social media.

Messi's personal context

After the match, Messi was seen in tears and later explained that his emotions were unrelated to the sport. In a statement released on Thursday, the Messi family confirmed that Messi's father, Jorge, is undergoing treatment for a health issue and is recovering favourably. The family asked for privacy and criticised what it called irresponsible media speculation about Jorge Messi's condition.

“Honestly, completely unrelated to the sport, I went through some difficult, complicated days. I'm grateful to the entire delegation, to my teammates. They were always there for me, as always. They gave me a lot of strength to get through this, and that's all.”