[Saba Sports News] According to Algerian media, the Algerian Football Federation has filed an official protest over the officiating in their 0-3 defeat to Argentina. Reports state that the federation lodged a formal complaint with FIFA regarding the referee’s decisions in their 0-3 loss to Argentina at the 2026 World Cup. It specifically challenges the failure to show Lionel Messi a red card for a brutal foul on defender Aïssa Mandi. The protest centres on Polish match official Szymon Marciniak, who stands accused of making calls that decisively altered the course of this World Cup Group J fixture. In the document submitted to FIFA, the federation outlines the first contentious incident in the 31st minute: Messi, who opened the scoring for Argentina in the 17th minute, caught Algerian defender Aïssa Mandi on the calf with his studs yet escaped any disciplinary sanction whatsoever.
The editor believes that FIFA previously ruled that the referee was correct not to show Messi a red card for the studs-on-calf foul. Nevertheless, multiple Algerian media outlets have recently published reports stating that the Algerian Football Federation has filed a formal protest.