FIFA has backed referee Szymon Marciniak’s decision not to send off Lionel Messi in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria, despite the controversial challenge in the 31st minute. Messi later scored a hat-trick, and a red card could have changed the match outcome.
Former international referee Rafał Rostkowski said Marciniak made the right call and that there was no VAR error. According to him, FIFA also supported both Marciniak and the VAR team. He argued that the strong reaction came mainly from the replay images, which made the contact with Algeria defender Issa Mandi look more violent than it was in real time.
FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina said Marciniak was correct to award Algeria a free kick but not to show Messi a card. FIFA did not classify the incident as violent conduct or as a particularly serious foul, noting that the contact resulted from the movement of both players, not only Messi’s step on Mandi’s shin.
Rostkowski wrote on sport.tvp.pl that some observers might consider the action worthy of a yellow card for carelessness, but not of VAR intervention. He said World Cup referees in North America have been told to issue red cards mainly for the most dangerous offenses, adding, “Messi’s foul can be rated 6 to 7, at most 8. FIFA expects red cards only for incidents rated 10, or at least 9.”
