The Algeria national football team has filed a complaint to the FIFA disciplinary committee, protesting several refereeing decisions that led to their 3-0 loss to Argentina in the World Cup. The Algerian complaint focused on an incident in the first half, where Argentine captain Lionel Messi stepped on the leg of Algeria's captain, Issa Mandi, which sparked widespread calls for Messi's expulsion. The complaint also objected to a challenge by Argentine midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who allegedly elbowed Algeria's Ibrahim Maza in the face during the second half, without being penalized by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak. Marciniak, who refereed the 2022 World Cup final, was close to the incident, which raised many questions about his decisions, as well as the work of the video assistant referee team led by his compatriot Tomasz Kwiatkowski. The Messi incident sparked debate on social media, with opinions divided on whether he should have been punished, while some believed his status as a global star may have influenced the refereeing decision. South Africa coach Hugo Broos cited the incident in discussing the three-match ban of his player, Thembha Zwane, after being sent off against Mexico, saying he saw no significant difference between the two cases. Broos said he did not want to see Messi expelled because a player of his quality should be on the field, but wondered why the punishments differed, considering Zwane's three-match ban to be overly harsh. Argentina will face Austria in Dallas on Monday, while Algeria will meet Jordan in San Francisco in the next round of the tournament. These matches will be crucial in determining the fate of the two teams in the competition. Algeria will need to win their next match to improve their chances of advancing to the next round. Meanwhile, Argentina will seek to win to strengthen their position in the group.