Algeria have lodged a complaint about alleged poor refereeing during their 3-0 World Cup defeat by Argentina this week, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.

Algeria sent a letter to Fifa’s refereeing commission, with particular reference to the first-half incident when Argentina’s Lionel Messi stood on the calf of Algeria captain Aissa Mandi.

Algeria supporters screamed for Messi to be sent off but the forward was not punished and went on to score a hat-trick.

The match in Kansas City was refereed by Poland’s Szymon Marciniak, who was in charge of the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar in which Argentina beat France on penalties.