From Referee Dispute to Antisemitic Scandal: The Controversy After Algeria's 3-0 World Cup Loss to Argentina

• Messi tackle (32nd minute): Messi went in studs-up on Algeria defender Aissa Mandi, appearing to step on his calf. Referee Marciniak did not issue a card, and VAR did not intervene .
• Mac Allister elbow: Alexis Mac Allister was also cited by Algeria for an alleged elbow on Ibrahim Maza that went unpunished .

Algeria's FIFA Complaint

On Friday, June 19, the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) confirmed it had lodged a formal complaint with FIFA's refereeing commission . FAF President Walid Sadi said the federation believes both Messi and Mac Allister should have been sent off, accusing the officiating of "refereeing injustice" . Multiple outlets noted the complaint is unlikely to change the match result .

Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories on Live TV

The refereeing grievance quickly gave way to a far darker episode. On a domestic Algerian sports channel, prominent journalist and analyst Mustapha al-Maazouzi went on live television and said:

"Messi is protected. They acknowledged that. Messi is protected by the Jewish lobby. This lobby controls the world, they run it however they want as if they were the mafia."

Al-Maazouzi's rant was widely condemned as a textbook antisemitic conspiracy theory . Multiple outlets reported his claims spread across Arab social media, causing a regional storm . The Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews, JNS, and Euronews Arabic all covered the remarks as an antisemitism scandal .

Media Regulator's Response

Algeria's media regulatory authority stepped in. According to JNS and Israel Hayom, regulators threatened to take action against broadcasters that allowed such content, warning media outlets to maintain professional standards and avoid inflammatory rhetoric . The regulator — identified in some reports as the Algerian Independent Authority for Audiovisual Regulation (ANIRA) — publicly condemned the surge in misleading and antisemitic discourse .

Broader Pattern of Deflection

Commentators across several outlets framed the entire sequence — the FIFA complaint, the conspiracy theories, and the regulator's intervention — as a collective refusal to accept the reality of Argentina's dominant performance . Key facts supporting this view:

• Argentina had 10 shots to Algeria's 0 on goal .
• Messi's hat-trick was his first at a World Cup .
• Multiple analysts noted that the refereeing complaints and antisemitic commentary served to deflect attention from Algeria's lack of competitiveness on the pitch .

In short, the controversy unfolded in three layers: a legitimate but disputed refereeing complaint, highly toxic antisemitic conspiracy theories aired on national TV, and a regulatory clampdown — all against the backdrop of a one-sided match that Algeria was never in.