Algeria FC filed a complaint to FIFA after its 3-0 opening World Cup loss to Argentina, centering on Lionel Messi’s 30th-minute tackle on Aissa Mandi. The dispute puts the match officials under review after an incident that came between Messi’s first and second goals.
Messi caught Mandi on his right calf and Achilles tendon with his studs up, and Szymon Marciniak gave Algeria a free-kick but did not show a card. Messi later completed a hat-trick, turning the foul into one flashpoint inside a match Algeria says contained more than one refereeing problem.
Messi And Mandi In The 30th Minute
The complaint starts with the most visible incident from the game. In the 30th minute, Messi went in on Mandi, and the Algeria captain was struck on his right calf and Achilles tendon. Marciniak awarded the free-kick to Algeria, but the Argentine forward stayed on the field.
That sequence matters because it sat between Messi’s first and second goals. The foul did not stop the match from moving on, and it did not stop Messi from finishing with three goals.
Algerian Football Federation Complaint
The Algerian Football Federation took the next step after the match by filing a complaint with FIFA over refereeing decisions in the 3-0 defeat. The filing is not a general protest about the result. It focuses on specific moments: the Messi tackle and two elbow incidents involving Hadj Moussa and Ibrahim Maza.
Algeria’s complaint frames the match around those decisions rather than around the score alone. The free-kick was given, but the card was not, and that split ruling is at the heart of the grievance.
Vladimir Petkovic After The Game
Vladimir Petkovic addressed the incident after the game with a line that matched Algeria’s frustration: “It’s pointless commenting on hypothetical situations, but everyone saw it, including me”. His comment pointed back to the same sequence without adding speculation about how FIFA will treat the complaint.
That leaves Algeria with a formal filing and the match record as it stands: a 3-0 opening World Cup loss, Messi’s hat-trick, and a disputed challenge on Mandi that the referee punished only with a free-kick. Will FIFA take action on the complaint, or let the decisions stand as they were given on the field?
