When you are quite probably the greatest footballer of all time, everything you do will attract attention. Some of it will be good, but some of it will be unwanted. It’s the latter for Lionel Messi, despite his recent hat-trick to kick off Argentina’s World Cup campaign.

The 38-year-old was on fire as he smashed in three goals against Algeria to give his nation a 3-0 win in their Group J opener. Messi’s display in ​Kansas City left fans and pundits purring, as he took his tally of World Cup goals to 16 in total, now level with record holder Miroslav Klose.

In the aftermath of that game, however, one nation has now lodged an official complaint to FIFA.

Algeria Make Complaint Over Two Issues After Argentina Loss

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According to Reuters, Algeria have lodged a complaint about ‘alleged poor refereeing’ during their 3-0 loss to Argentina in their opening World Cup fixture. The report adds that ‘a source with direct knowledge of the matter’ has revealed that a letter was sent to FIFA’s refereeing commission, with particular reference to the first-half incident when Messi stood on the calf of ​Algeria captain Aissa Mandi.

While the team from Africa immediately argued that it should have been a red card, the iconic forward ⁠was not punished. Adding insult to injury, he then went on to score a hat-trick.

Beyond the Messi incident, Algeria also claim that an elbow from Liverpool midfielder Alexis ​Mac Allister in the face of Ibrahim Maza should have been punished. They question why it went unpunished by Szymon Marciniak. The experienced Polish referee, who was in charge of the 2022 World Cup final (won by Argentina on penalties against France), was within a meter of the incident when Mac Allister ​appeared to body-check Maza with a raised elbow.

Algeria’s complaint raises questions about Marciniak’s performance and that ​of his VAR team, led by compatriot Tomasz Kwiatkowski.

Pundits Offer Clear Verdict on Messi Incident vs Algeria

The general consensus was that Messi probably should have been sent off for the foul. ESPN pundit Nedum Onuoha said: think it should have been a red card, in my opinion. It feels like the moment was missed.” He added: “The referee’s probably missed it – and I understand why he’s missed it – but for the video assistant referee [VAR] to look at that and say ‘no, that’s all fine, there’s nothing more to it’… I personally think that’s worthy of a red.”

Onuoha’s co-pundit, the former Venezuela international Ale Moreno, went even further by claiming it was “100% a red card for Lionel Messi. It should have been.”

Piers Morgan was a little more forthright with his criticism of the challenge, noting:

Argentina will ace Austria in Dallas next, while Algeria take on Jordan in San ​Francisco.

Tottenham Hotspur are working to complete seven signings this summer as ENIC go into overdrive in the transfer window.

Tottenham know that they got away with one after only avoiding relegation to the Championship on the final day of the Premier League season, and club chiefs know they now need to back manager Roberto De Zerbi in the market to ensure it never happens again.

One of Spurs’ big weakness in recent seasons has been their defence, with the club conceding 183 Premier League goals across the previous three seasons.

The North Londoners have already moved decisively to try and fix their defensive issues, bringing in the experienced Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi on free transfers, while they have also reached a full agreement to sign another centre-back in Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton and Hove Albion in a deal worth £52m.

Tottenham are not done there though, with top sources reporting talks for Manchester City’s Savinho, Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali, West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes, as well as trying to sort a permanent deal for Joao Palhinha following his successful season-long loan spell from Bayern Munich.

Spurs have spent just over £50m so far, and that number could soon go up significantly.

Tottenham Working to Complete Seven Signings

via Reuters

According to renowned Tottenham source Paul O’Keefe on X, Spurs are far from done with their summer business after already completing three agreements.

O’Keefe believes that the club will look to bring in four more signings in the remainder of the window, with four key positions identified.

Those include central midfield, where Spurs are already said to be holding talks over Palhinha, Tonali and Fernandes, with the suggestion that perhaps only one of those will join unless there is another major player exit from the engine room.

Then, De Zerbi also wants to strengthen his frontline, with a new left-winger, right-winger and a centre-forward wanted.

Who Could Still Leave Tottenham?

via Reuters

Tottenham will surely need to make some more room in their squad if further new players are to arrive, with major doubts over the future of captain Cristian Romero.

The Spurs skipper has been linked with a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for months now, and the arrival of two new centre-backs only hints more that he could be on his way, at a time when the club really wants to keep Micky van de Ven.

In midfield, it has been claimed by David Ornstein that De Zerbi wants to sign both Tonali and Fernandes for his midfield, and if that was to happen then surely there would be one or two exits in midfield as well.

There could be doubts raised over the likes of Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall, who has attracted interest from other Premier League clubs in the past.

In attack, Mathys Tel has been linked with a move away from the club but De Zerbi is said to have blocked any transfer for the Frenchman, while Richarlison is linked with a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in most transfer windows.

USA fans have been left baffled after noticing their national anthem was tweaked ahead of their World Cup game against Australia on Friday night. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been proving everyone wrong so far this summer, with a 4-1 win over Paraguay last week setting the tone for a host nation determined to show its passion for the beautiful game.

But while the football has done much of the heavy lifting – they are 2-0 up against the Socceroos at the time of writing – the atmosphere in the stands has also underlined how far the beautiful game has come in the United States in recent years. However, there was confusion ahead of their second match, which took place at Seattle’s Lumen Field.

Their iconic ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ anthem rang out at full volume around the stadium, but something was noticeably missing, and FIFA protocol meant many supporters were hearing a version they had never encountered before.

USA Fans Baffled As National Anthem Was Sped Up Before Australia Game

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Many viewers noticed that the anthem was sped up, with one X user remarking: “WOW I have never heard the US National Anthem played at that pace. The crowd couldn’t even keep up!” But the reaction to the slight tweak wasn’t all positive, with another commenting (watch the sped-up version below):

Elsewhere, a third wrote: “The tempo was 2x normal speed for the song. It was amazing. Normalize this,” as a fourth concluded: “Speeding up the national anthem was a mistake, it ruined a beautiful moment.”

Why FIFA Protocol is at Fault for ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ Change

Ahead of the USMNT’s opening World Cup game against Paraguay in Los Angeles last week, stars including Katy Perry, Lisa and Future headlined the third of the tournament’s three opening ceremonies before country music duo Dan + Shay performed “The Star Spangled Banner” before kickoff.

Before the second group-stage game against Australia in Seattle, however, no performers were booked to sing either national anthem. That is the standard format for most World Cup matches and international games in general. Exceptions were made only for the opening matches involving the tournament’s three host nations: the United States, Mexico and Canada. Instead, a band played both national anthems, with fans at Lumen Field invited to sing along.

As one fan explained, it made a welcome change from other sports, as they wrote: Wonderful to hear @USMNT fans belt out the national anthem at the @FIFAWorldCup. Been to many @NFL and @NBA games, where there is a dragged-out anthem sung by someone always putting a twist on it, so no one dare join in. People love to sing!”