Algeria complains to FIFA over refereeing, Lionel Messi foul in Argentina game

The Algerian Football Federation (FAF) has filed a complaint with FIFA regarding the refereeing decisions in their 3-0 opening World Cup defeat by Argentina. Its concerns, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, who spoke to The Athletic on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to publicly, center around Lionel Messi's tackle in the 30th minute, in which he caught Algeria captain Aissa Mandi on his right calf and Achilles tendon with his studs up. Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, who is one of Europe's top officials, did not sanction the reigning World Cup champion with a card but did award a free-kick to Algeria. The incident took place between Messi's first and second goals before the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner completed a spectacular hat-trick to kickstart Argentina's World Cup campaign. According to the source, there are two other incidents involving challenges with the elbow on Hadj Moussa and Ibrahim Maza that Algeria is unhappy about and has raised with FIFA. "It's pointless commenting on hypothetical situations, but everyone saw it, including me," Algeria head coach Vladimir Petkovic said in his new conference after the game. FIFA has been approached for comment. Does Messi get special treatment - the expert view Analysis by refereeing expert and former Premier League official Graham Scott Few referees would have dismissed him for the challenge -- not because it was Messi but because there was no intent or intensity in his actions. Bear in mind that the ref was Marciniak, who was in charge of the 2022 World Cup final. We are not talking about a novice. Check out the reactions of the Algerian players, none of whom saw any malice. Footballers spring to the defence of a team-mate who is harmed deliberately and nowadays are drilled to cause a fuss to ensure the video assistant referee takes a long, hard look at the replays. The collective shrug of Algerian shoulders would have been one of the considerations in the video review room, given that VARs the world over are lambasted for delaying the game when no one on the pitch seems interested in overturning the on-field decision. You may not like that, but it's true. If you want a more clinical process with more consistent outcomes, you'll have to tolerate longer delays and leave officials in peace to make their judgements. I don't see that happening any time soon. On replay, the decision is more challenging, because there is no doubt that Messi's studs are planted into Mandi's calf. It looked painful, and his reaction appeared genuine. Some VARs may have recommended an on-field review due to the potentially serious consequences of the tackle, which seemed to put Mandi at risk of injury. To that extent, Messi was fortunate, as the referee may have reached for his red card if shown slow-motion replays of the contact on the pitch-side monitor. For a player to receive a straight red card for serious foul play, there must be evidence that they endangered their opponent's safety or used excessive force.