📸 Messi unpunished? The act that sparked red-card calls | OneFootball

A dream night at Kansas City Stadium was overshadowed by refereeing controversy in the World Cup debut of Argentina and Algeria, following an incident that, for many, should have been called against Lionel Messi. 

The incident happened in the first half, when the Inter Miami player came in from behind and stomped on Aissa Mandi, but Szymon Marciniak, the referee for the match, did not even punish it with a yellow card. 

Refereeing experts pointed out the three reasons why Messi should not have remained on the field: full contact, excessive force, and endangering the opponent’s physical integrity. 

Szymon Marciniak’s involvement is controversial in itself, since his officiating in the final between France and Argentina drew criticism after Leo’s second goal. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

📸 JUAN MABROMATA - AFP or licensors