'Messi came over to apologise' – Algeria defender breaks silence on World Cup tackle

Algerian defender Aissa Mandi has revealed that Argentina captain Lionel Messi immediately apologised following a dangerous tackle during their 2026 FIFA World Cup group-stage encounter, admitting the football icon recognised he had made a mistake.

The incident occurred during Argentina's convincing 3-0 victory over Algeria, a match in which Messi scored a historic hat-trick to lead the defending champions to all three points.

The controversial moment came just 14 minutes after Messi had opened the scoring when the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner lunged into a studs-up tackle on Mandi's calf.

Despite widespread calls for a red card, Polish referee Szymon Marciniak awarded only a free-kick, while the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) chose not to intervene.

Messi remained on the pitch and went on to score twice more after the break, becoming the oldest player to score a hat-trick in FIFA World Cup history.

Reflecting on the incident, Mandi said Messi wasted no time in acknowledging the foul and checking on his condition.

"Messi knew he had made a mistake and quickly came over to apologise and check on me," Mandi said, as reported by Trend EFL.

The Villarreal defender also revealed that he immediately appealed to the referee to review the challenge.

He added, "I told the referee: 'Look, that was a high tackle,' and when I got back up, I signalled for VAR to review the play."

Mandi admitted he did not initially appreciate how dangerous the challenge was until he watched the replay after the game.

According to him, players often struggle to judge the full force of tackles during the intensity of a match.

He continued, "The big difference between you watching on a screen and us on the field is that you see the replay and can judge the force of the tackle in five seconds. We don't have that luxury.

"I definitely felt the impact, but I didn't realise how bad it was until I was in the locker room. I was in intense pain and was told, 'That tackle deserved a red card; watch the replay.'"