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Algeria has submitted an official complaint to FIFA over "refereeing injustice" following their opening World Cup defeat against Argentina, highlighting an unpunished tackle committed by Lionel Messi, an Algerian football federation source told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday.
Messi caught Algerian defender Aissa Mandi on the calf with a studs-up challenge from behind in the 30th minute of Tuesday's match, but was not booked.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or (an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football) winner, who had already given reigning world champions Argentina the lead, went on to score a hat-trick.
"The complaint primarily concerns Messi's challenge, which deserved a red card, in everyone's opinion," said the federation source. "There were also two elbow incidents... Both of which warranted dismissals."
Algeria faces Jordan in their second match on Monday, before completing their Group J campaign against Austria on Saturday, June 27.
"We are not saying that the Argentine team was not strong, but we cannot remain silent in the face of injustice," the source added when asked why Algeria decided to file a complaint.
"There were three incidents that were crystal clear, and VAR (Video Assistant Referee, an assistant referee who reviews decisions made by the head referee using video footage) did not intervene."
Messi's treble saw him tie former Germany striker Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup scoring record of 16 goals.
Algeria is hoping to reach the World Cup knockout phase for only the second time, following an extra-time loss to eventual winners Germany in the last 16 in 2014.
Before the 2026 tournament, Algeria last participated in the FIFA World Cup during the 2014 edition hosted by Brazil.
That tournament marked a historic milestone for the national team, as they advanced past the group stage for the first time in their history.
Their campaign concluded in the round of 16 following a highly competitive, 2-1 extra-time defeat against Germany, who eventually won the tournament.
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