Although Lionel Messi has made World Cup history as the greatest goalscorer of all time, his opening goal in the 2-0 victory over Austria is still causing fierce controversy.
The most vocal person is legendary Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. Commenting on Fox Sports, the former Manchester United star believed that Egyptian referee Amin Mohamed Omar made a serious mistake in validating Messi’s historic goal.
In the 38th minute of the match between Argentina and Austria, Messi received a cross from the left flank before unleashing a left-footed finish to beat the opposing goalkeeper, scoring the opening goal for Argentina.
That was Messi’s 17th goal in the World Cup finals, helping him surpass German legend Miroslav Klose to become the top goalscorer in men’s World Cup history. However, Schmeichel argued that right before Argentina initiated the play leading to the goal, midfielder Alexis Mac Allister had fouled Austrian midfielder Xaver Schlager. According to the 62-year-old former goalkeeper, Mac Allister kicked Schlager’s leg from behind, causing the Austrian player to fall to the pitch, but the referee did not blow the whistle and VAR did not intervene.
During the halftime commentary, Schmeichel appeared extremely frustrated: “It was a clear foul. I don’t think that goal should have been allowed.” He continued to analyze: “Look at how that situation started. This is a kick from behind on Xaver Schlager.”
The goalkeeper who was capped 129 times for the Danish national team asserted: “That should have been a free kick for Austria. Mac Allister kicked the opposing player down.”
According to Schmeichel, the VAR team should have asked the referee to review the monitor outside the pitch: “VAR should have intervened. This is a clear and obvious mistake by the referee.”
The play that Schmeichel felt frustrated about for Austria – Photo: The Sun Concluding his analysis, he could not hide his disappointment: “Because of that, I feel quite frustrated.”
After the video went viral on social media, many fans also questioned the referee’s decision. Some opinions suggested that FIFA is showing certain favoritism toward Argentina and Messi in this tournament. There were even more extreme opinions suggesting that this goal is proof of Argentina receiving favoritism from the referees.
However, many other experts defended the refereeing team’s decision. According to them, the collision between Mac Allister and Schlager occurred quite early in the buildup play, and was not severe enough for VAR to intervene.
According to current regulations, VAR is only allowed to intervene when a “clear and obvious error” occurs in the situation leading to a goal. If the VAR team assesses this as just a normal challenge or an insufficiently clear error, the on-field decision will stand.
Despite the controversies, the goal was still awarded and entered World Cup history. Not only that, but Messi also scored another goal in stoppage time to seal a 2-0 victory for Argentina. Thanks to this, Argentina won a ticket to the knockout stage after two matchdays, continuing to assert their status as a leading contender for the championship. In Group J, the remaining positions behind Argentina are Austria (3 points), Jordan (0 points), and Algeria (0 points).
