Messi should have been sent off for stamp in World Cup hat-trick game, says ex-Premier League referee

Lionel Messi scored a World Cup hat-trick against Algeria in Dallas, but former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believes the Argentine captain should have been dismissed before he had the chance to dominate the game. Argentina won 3-0, with Messi opening the scoring inside 17 minutes, yet a stamp on Aissa Mandi’s leg in the build-up went unpunished by referee Szymon Marciniak and, crucially, by VAR.

Halsey, speaking to The Sun, argued the incident met the threshold for violent conduct. “When you look at the incident, the ball is not within playing distance so it’s not serious foul play,” he said. “It has to be violent conduct because it comes down as a stamp. I was really surprised that VAR didn’t recommend a review.”

Messi made immediate contact with Mandi’s calf with his studs, sending the Algerian defender to the ground. The 38-year-old raised his hands in apology but was not shown even a yellow card. Halsey was unequivocal: “For me, I think Messi was a very, very lucky player because that stamp endangered the player’s safety.”

The former official drew a pointed comparison with an earlier World Cup group-stage match between Mexico and South Africa, in which VAR intervened to recommend an on-field review for a challenge by Themba Zwane — a decision Halsey considered unjustified. “They get involved in that incident and they don’t get involved in this incident. It’s absolutely barmy,” he said.

Halsey also called on FIFA’s referee chief Pierluigi Collina to publicly address why Messi remained on the pitch. “Did that challenge endanger the player’s safety? With or without excessive force? For me it did,” he said. “When someone rakes their studs down the back of your calf, that could put you out for a long, long time. Whoever the player is, that should not come into it. I’d like to hear Collina’s version of that incident when they come out and do their press conference.”

Messi went on to score twice more to complete his hat-trick, finishing the match without any disciplinary action recorded against him.