Messi's Historic Hat-trick Against Algeria Overshadowed by Controversial Unpunished Stomp

Lionel Messi celebrated his 200th cap for Argentina with a hat-trick in the 3-0 victory over Algeria, but a serious foul that went unpunished in the first half immediately overshadowed the sporting performance.

The Inter Miami forward opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a strike from the edge of the box, doubled his tally from a poorly cleared ball by Luca Zidane, then sealed his hat-trick with another long-range effort. These three goals allow him to equal Miroslav Klose at the top of the all-time World Cup goalscoring chart with 16 goals in total.

But it was a far less glorious incident that fuelled debate after the final whistle. In the first half, Messi stamped on the calf of Algerian defender Aïssa Mendi during a challenge. Polish referee Szymon Marciniak blew for a foul, and Messi apologised to the Algerian defender, but no card was shown. VAR also did not prompt the referee to review the action on screen.

For many observers, the punishment should have been far more severe. Nedum Onuoha, former Manchester City defender and ESPN analyst, felt Messi “probably deserved a red card”, adding that the player “knew he could have problems” given his immediate reaction. “The referee missed it, but the video may have said: no, it passes. Personally, I think it was a red card.”

Former Venezuela international Alejandro Moreno was more categorical. “It’s a 100% red card for Lionel Messi, he should have received it,” he stated. He also highlighted an image of FIFA president Gianni Infantino smiling in the stands during a Messi miss before his hat-trick, seeing it as a symbol of preferential treatment reserved for big stars. “When you catch an opponent’s calf from below the knee to the ankle, that has to be a red card. Even though I like Messi a lot, it was a bad gesture.”

Argentina, the defending champions, thus made a successful start to the competition with three points and a record-breaking Messi, but questions over refereeing impartiality look set to linger throughout discussions surrounding this World Cup.