A referee explained why Argentina captain Lionel Messi wasn’t red-carded for a foul on Algeria defender Aissa Mandi at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Kansas City on Tuesday (June 16).
The incident happened early in the second half, with La Albiceleste ahead, thanks to Messi’s 17th-minute opener. In a poor tackle, the Argentine seemed to make a studs-up challenge on Mandi’s calf, dividing opinion among experts about whether it was worthy of a red card.
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Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, though, didn’t deem the foul worthy of even a yellow, and there wasn’t VAR intervention. Explaining why Messi wasn’t sent off, a referee on Refereechannel said:
“You have to look if this meets the criteria for serious foul play. This is not violent conduct. There was an attempted challenge involved, but it’s not deliberate. For serious foul play, a tackle should endanger the safety of an opponent or use excessive force or brutality.”
“In this case, there was no excessive force or brutality either, endangering the safety of the opponent. So in this situation, the opponent’s leg was bent, and his foot wasn’t planted on the ground. This makes the force less intense. … It wasn’t full force on the calf.”
He continued:
“So even though it’s possible to argue for red card here, the foul didn’t endanger the safety of the opponent, so in this case, it shouldn’t be seen as meeting that criteria. The intensity is not enough to endanger the safety of the opponent.
“Considering all these, an yellow card (would have been) the most appropriate decision. It doesn’t meet the criteria for an obvious red card, that’s why VAR chose not to intervene. But it’s 100% a missed yellow card.”
It’s pertinent to note that Messi has never been sent off in 27 games (a comeptition record) at the FIFA World Cup.
What’s next for Lionel Messi’s Argentina at the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Following their commanding win over Algeria in their 2026 FIFA World Cup title defence, Lionel Messi’s Argentina next lock horns with Austria on Monday (June 16) at Dallas Stadium in Arlington.
La Albiceleste are top of Group J after the opening round of games, ahead of Austria on goal difference, with Jordan and Algeria – in that order – making up the rear.
Messi and Co. are riding a seven-game winning streak at the FIFA World Cup, including six in the previous edition at Qatar 2022, where they beat France on penalties in the final.
Edited by Bhargav