The Argentine team opened the defense of its title with a solid 3-0 win over Algeria and another Lionel Messi collection night. The captain signed a tripletcame to 16 goals in the World Cups and equaled the German Miroslav Klose as the tournament’s all-time top scorer.
But in the midst of the records and the praise, he appeared a play that promises to give something to talk about. The former Mexican referee Arturo Brizio Carter assured that Messi should have been sent off in the 31st minute for a tackle on Algerian defender Aïssa Mandi.
It all happened during a struggle. In the dispute for the ball, the Argentine’s left foot ended up impacting his rival’s right leg.
The Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, who directed the final of the Qatar 2022 World Cuppointed out the lack, but did not show any card. The VAR did not call him to review the action either.
For Brizio, there was the mistake of the night.
“Entrance with excessive force”
“A play occurred in which an Argentine player makes a tackle with excessive force, with the ball five feet away, above the ankle and from behind, putting the physical integrity of his opponent at serious risk. This, in good Spanish, is called a red card.”, he stated.
Brizio’s opinion does not come from just any voice.
The Mexican He directed six games in the 1994 United States and 1998 France World Cups. and maintains the record of seven expulsions in just six World Cup matches.
Among the most memorable red cards of his career is the one he showed to the Frenchman Zinedine Zidane for stepping on Saudi Faud Amin in the 1998 World Cup.
The former whistler explained that the Rule 12 requires assessing the point of contact, the surface used and the intensity of the action. In his opinion, the play brought together all the elements for a direct expulsion.
“There will be controversy, of course, but There were all the elements to get a red card and Mr. Marciniak did not get it. “I can’t get into his head to know if it was due to lack of courage or because he saw her in the wrong way,” he said.
Question the VAR
Brizio even went a step further and questioned the inaction of video refereeing. “The VAR does not intervene either. I think special consideration was given to the best player in the world”, he concluded.
The arbitration discussion was overshadowed by another Messi recitalwhich the international press described as “eternal” and “brutal”.
However, while the man from Rosario celebrated a new world recordthe debate was already settled: for one of the most recognized referees in Mexico, The hero of the night should not have even finished the game on the field.