Algeria complained to FIFA over the officiating in the rout against Argentina

The Algerian Football Federation has officially appealed to FIFA with a complaint about the refereeing in the match of the first round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup against Argentina. This is reported by Reuters. The meeting ended with a confident victory of the reigning world champions, and the main hero of the match was Lionel Messi, who completed a hat trick. However, in the camp of the African national team, they believe that some key decisions of the Polish referee Szymon Marcyniak had a significant impact on the course of the game. The Algerians were most outraged by the episode in the 32nd minute, when Messi, according to their version, dangerously stepped on the calf of team captain Aissa Mundi with spikes. The Algerian Football Federation is convinced that this moment could lead to a straight red card for the Argentinian forward, but the Polish referee did not even show a warning. The complaint also mentions an incident in the second half involving Alexis McAllister and Ibrahim Maza. The Algerian side claims that the Argentinian midfielder elbowed an opponent, but this moment also went unpunished. As noted, the letter has already been sent to the FIFA refereeing committee. At the same time, such appeals rarely lead to retroactive revisions of match results or disciplinary sanctions. The discussion surrounding the episode with Messi has already gained wide publicity. In particular, the head coach of the South African national team, Hugo Broos, compared this case to the expulsion of his protege Themba Zwane and questioned the consistency of refereeing decisions at the tournament. So far, FIFA has not provided an official response to Algeria's appeal. In the next round, Argentina will play against Austria, and the Algerians will play an important match against Jordan, in which they will try to keep their chances of reaching the playoffs.