'Jewish lobby' at fault for World Cup decisions, Messi's goals, Algerian sports analyst claims

An Algerian sports analyst has asserted that a powerful "Jewish lobby" manipulated refereeing decisions during a World Cup game to favor Lionel Messi and Argentina. The claim emerged following Argentina's 3-0 victory over Algeria, where Messi scored a hat-trick.

The analyst, Mustafa Mazzouzi, pointed to a specific incident in the 30th minute where Messi tackled Algeria's Aissa Mandi. While Messi appeared to step on Mandi's calf, the Polish referee, Szymon Marciniak, awarded a free-kick but showed no card, despite protests from the Algerian team and fans who considered the foul severe.

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Messi is protected by the Jewish lobby. This lobby controls the world, they run it however they want as if they were the mafia. [FIFA President] Infantino doesn't want us to do well.

Algeria has officially lodged a complaint with FIFA, citing this and another second-half call as examples of poor officiating. Mazzouzi went further, stating on domestic television that Messi is "protected by the Jewish lobby" which he described as controlling the world like the mafia. He also suggested that FIFA President Infantino is involved and that Algeria's political stances on Western Sahara and Palestine are the reason for this alleged bias, preventing them from performing well or winning the World Cup.

Mazzouzi's comments link the refereeing controversy to geopolitical issues, claiming that Algeria's political positions are being targeted. Algeria still has matches against Jordan and Austria, and needs strong results to advance in the tournament.

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We are a country with dignity, we are a country named Algeria. We have political stances regarding Western Sahara and the Palestinian issue, and therefore they don't want us to do well. If we had the ability to win the World Cup, they would prevent it from us.