'Preferential treatment' for Lionel Messi? Argentina's hat-trick hero escaped '100% red card' after 'clumsy' tackle in World Cup victory vs Algeria

While the world stood still to witness another Messi masterclass, the post-match talk was dominated by a flashpoint that occurred when the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner caught Algerian centre-back Aissa Mandi with a "clumsy" challenge. The Argentinian superstar appeared to step directly onto the back of Mandi’s calf with his studs, a move that sparked immediate calls for a dismissal from the Algerian bench and social media alike.

Astonishingly, despite the severity of the contact, the referee did not even brandish a yellow card, and VAR opted not to intervene to recommend a review. This leniency has sparked a fierce debate over whether the game's biggest icons are held to different standards by officiating teams on the grandest stage.

The fallout from the challenge was immediate, with ESPN FC pundits Ale Moreno and Nedum Onuoha expressing their shock at the lack of a card. Moreno was particularly scathing, suggesting the incident fuels a long-standing theory in the game. The ex-MLS star stated: "It's 100 percent a red card for Lionel Messi. Should have been. It plays along this narrative that great players get preferential treatment. When he was about to score a hat trick and the goalkeeper, [Luca] Zidane, actually made a save, they showed [FIFA president] Gianni Infantino smiling. He was like, 'Oh, man, that was close.' It does play into that narrative of, 'Oh, yeah, this guy's getting a different sort of treatment'."

Onuoha echoed these sentiments, noting that even the match commentary seemed to gloss over the severity of the foul. "In the commentary, they didn't even say anything happened," the former Manchester City defender remarked. "We were just watching the video of it and it was like, 'Oh, that's quite bad,' and they were like, 'It's good to see Messi pressing'."

The primary source of frustration for many was the failure of the officiating team, led by Simon Marciniak, to review the footage at the monitor. Moreno questioned why the technology designed to catch such errors failed to intervene during the defending champions' opening victory.

"We don't even have to see the still, if you see the live video, it felt like a bad challenge to begin with," Moreno added. "Then you see the replay, this is a bad challenge. Somebody has to take a look at this. Why is Simon Marciniak, the referee, not being called over to see this? It should have been a red card for Lionel Messi. As much as I love Lionel Messi, that was a clumsy challenge, a bad challenge. And you're raking the back of somebody's calf all the way up from the knee down to his ankle should have been a red card."

Sharing Moreno's frustration, Onuoha said: "I think it feels like the moment was missed… When the player was on the floor, you could see Messi had a level of concern because he knew that he potentially has just done something there which could get him in trouble. I understand why the referees missed it. But for the VAR to look at that and say, 'No, that's all fine, there's nothing more to it', I personally think that is worthy of a red card."

Despite the disciplinary drama, Messi's on-ball performance was typically imperious. His three-goal haul saw him draw level with German icon Miroslav Klose at the summit of the all-time World Cup scoring charts with 16 goals. The 38-year-old opened the scoring with a spectacular strike from distance before rounding off his treble in the 76th minute, storming to the top of the Golden Boot charts ahead of Kylian Mbappe, who had earlier netted twice in France's 3-1 win over Senegal.

The reprieve is massive for Lionel Scaloni’s side, as a suspension for their talisman could have been a catastrophic blow to their title defence. With two yellow cards in the tournament resulting in an automatic one-game ban, Messi heading into the knockout rounds without a booking is a significant advantage. The Inter Miami man instead leaves the game celebrating his status alongside Klose and looking ahead to the rest of the group stage.