MIAMI — A day after his FIFA World Cup 2026 debut, slow-motion replays fueled a dilemma about how a referee should have disciplined Lionel Messi.
About 30 minutes into the Group J opening match against Algeria, a referee awarded a free-kick to Algeria over the Argentine superstar’s foul.
The referee’s response to the legend prompted Hugo Broos, South Africa’s coach, to appeal Themba Zwane’s June 11 red card, which bans him for three matches.
“The red card is too severe. I saw back the situation where Themba got the red card. I don’t think it was a red card,” Broos told reporters. “When I see what happened yesterday with Messi, then I don’t agree.”
Messi, 38, who made FIFA history as the first man to play in six different World Cups, stepped on Algeria national team captain Aïssa Mandi’s right calf.
Szymon Marciniak, a Polish association referee, gave Messi a warning.
The referee’s choices also included daring to give the star a red card for intentional violence or excessive force, or a yellow card for reckless misconduct.
“I think there was not even a VAR with Messi,” Broos said. “I don’t want Messi to get a red card because that player has to be on the pitch, and you saw yesterday what a wonderful player he is. But, yeah, what is the difference here?”
Messi scored his 14th, 15th, and 16th World Cup goals during his 27th World Cup match on Tuesday, and Argentina defeated Algeria 3-0.
Before Broos’s appeal, and during the match, commentators raised similar questions about the foul. Patrick Ittrich, a former German association referee, told the DPA press agency he felt strongly about it.
“By the letter of the law, that is a red. If I had seen it like that on the pitch, I would have shown red,” Ittrich said. “If the referee had shown red, it definitely would not have been overturned.”
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