Algeria protests referee's ruling on challenge involving Messi

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Argentina’s forward #10 Lionel Messi gestures after a foul on Algeria’s defender #02 Aissa Mandi during the 2026 World Cup Group J football match between Argentina and Algeria at the Kansas City Stadium in Kansas City on June 16, 2026. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)

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Algeria have lodged a complaint with FIFA over “refereeing injustice” in their opening World Cup loss to Argentina, particularly a tackle by Lionel Messi, an Algerian football federation source told AFP on Friday.

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Messi caught Algeria defender Aissa Mandi on the calf with a studs-up challenge from behind in the 30th minute of Tuesday’s match but was not booked.

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The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, who had already given reigning world champions Argentina the lead, went on to score a hat-trick.

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“The complaint primarily concerns Messi’s challenge, which deserved a red card, in everyone’s opinion,” said the federation source.

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“There were also two elbow incidents… Both of which warranted dismissals.”

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Algeria face Jordan in their second match on Monday, before completing their Group J campaign against Austria on Saturday, June 27.

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“We are not saying that the Argentine team was not strong, but we cannot remain silent in the face of injustice,” the source added when asked why Algeria decided to file a complaint.

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“There were three incidents that were crystal clear, and VAR did not intervene.”

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Messi’s treble saw him tie former Germany striker Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup scoring record of 16 goals.

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Algeria are hoping to reach the World Cup knockout phase for only the second time, following an extra-time loss to eventual winners Germany in the last 16 in 2014.

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