ESPN Analyst Says Messi Should Have Seen Red for World Cup Tackle — and It Fuels a Familiar Debate

Lionel Messi just turned 38. He just scored his first-ever World Cup hat trick. And according to one ESPN analyst, he also should have been ejected.

Argentina opened its 2026 World Cup title defense with a dominant 3-0 win over Algeria in Group J. Messi delivered all three goals, tying Miroslav Klose for the most goals in World Cup history with 16. But the conversation after the match was split between the brilliance of his performance and a second-half challenge that some believe crossed a line.

ESPN analyst Ale Moreno didn’t hold back during the network’s postgame coverage. The incident occurred shortly after Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute. The Argentine captain chased down Algerian defender Aissa Mandi and caught him high on the calf, dragging his studs from the knee down to the ankle. Referee Szymon Marciniak let the play continue without issuing even a yellow card.

“It’s 100% a red card for Lionel Messi,” Moreno said on air. “It should have been. I tell you what else is concerning: it plays along this narrative that great players get preferential treatment.”

Moreno questioned why VAR didn’t intervene and why Marciniak wasn’t called to the monitor. “Why is Szymon Marciniak, the referee, not being called over to see this? As much as I love Lionel Messi, that was a clumsy challenge, a bad challenge, and you’re raking the back of somebody’s calf, all the way up from the knee down to his ankle.”

The Bigger Picture

It’s not the first time a superstar has benefited from a referee’s leniency, and fans online were quick to point out that the pattern crosses sports — from Cristiano Ronaldo to LeBron James. Whether the lack of discipline was a mistake or an unspoken deference remains a matter of opinion. The match officials have not commented on the decision, and FIFA has not signaled any review.

What’s indisputable is that Messi made Algeria pay. After having an early goal wiped out by VAR — Algeria also had a goal disallowed in the first half — Messi broke through with a shot from outside the box. In the 60th minute, Algerian goalkeeper Luca Zidane pushed a tame effort directly into Messi’s path for a simple tap-in. The hat trick was completed in the 76th minute with another clinical finish from the edge of the area.

Messi now sits atop the all-time World Cup scoring list alongside Klose. Kylian Mbappe, sitting at 14 goals, is only two behind. But for Argentina, the focus is on the bigger mission: becoming the first team to repeat as champions since Brazil in 1962. Next up is Austria.

What to Watch

The debate over preferential treatment for legends isn’t going away. But if Messi keeps producing performances like this, Argentina won’t care how the goals come — or what happens between them.