FIFA World Cup referee’s treatment of Messi raises red card question

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 car