A spokesperson for the Algerian Football Federation announced that the federation has filed a formal complaint with FIFA over the decisions made by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak during Algeria's match against Argentina in the first round of Group 10 of the World Cup, currently being held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, which ended in a 3-0 victory for the "Tango Dancers."
The referee did not penalise Argentine star Lionel Messi, who scored a hat-trick in the match, for a strong challenge against Algeria captain Issa Mandi when the score stood at 1-0 in Argentina's favour, with some refereeing experts arguing it merited a red card.
The Algerian Football Federation also expressed its dissatisfaction with the failure to penalise Alexis Mac Allister for an elbow, in addition to another incident, while FIFA initially issued no response.
Protests against refereeing decisions in football generally have a limited chance of success, as a referee's discretionary decisions are, in principle, not revised retroactively.
The official website of Algerian Television reported, citing sources from the Algerian Football Federation, that the complaint was based on three main refereeing incidents.
These incidents included the challenge on Algeria captain Issa Mandi, which the federation considered warranted a stricter decision from the match referee or a review via the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology.
The federation also complained about an elbow challenge on Algeria player Anis Hadjmoussa, as well as a challenge on Brahim Maza, which the federation deemed a case deserving of review and appropriate disciplinary action.
Argentina top Group 10 with 3 points, ahead of Austria on goal difference — with both sides level on points — while Algeria sit in fourth place with no points.
Algeria will face Jordan in an all-Arab encounter in the group's next round, which will also see an important clash between Argentina and Austria.