Messi's historic goal under controversy, questions over goal against Austria

 

Messi's historic goal under controversy, questions over goal against Austria

 

Argentina captain Lionel Messi made history in a FIFA World Cup match against Austria on Monday, but his record-breaking goal has become the subject of controversy after the match. Messi scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Austria, taking his tally in FIFA World Cups to 18.

With this, he surpassed the record of former German forward Miroslav Klose to become the highest scorer in the history of the men's World Cup.

Immediately after this historic moment, debate began over whether Messi's first goal should have counted or not.

The cause of the controversy was the collision between Argentine midfielder Alexis McAllister and Austrian Javier Schlager that occurred moments before Argentina's goal. Some commentators and former players argue that McAllister fouled Schlager, which should have stopped the game.

Former Denmark and Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel criticized the referee's decision while speaking to Fox Sports.

He said that he believed the goal should not have been allowed because McAllister had brought down the Austrian player and it should have been a free kick.

Peter Schmeichel also questioned the role of VAR, saying that if the referee had made a mistake, VAR should have intervened.

On the other hand, American broadcaster ESPN, while analyzing the referee's decision, wrote that VAR's decision to uphold the goal was correct.

According to ESPN, VAR reviewed the entire attacking phase preceding the goal and concluded that the contact between McAllister and Schlager did not meet the criteria for a clear foul.

The analysis said that Schlager was not completely

balanced at the time and that the movement of both players played a role in the collision, so the on-field referee's decision could not be considered a clear error.

According to ESPN, since VAR only intervenes when there is a clear and significant error, the referee was called to the monitor in this incident.

Interestingly, Messi had another chance to set a record earlier in the match when Argentina was awarded a penalty, but the 38-year-old star player failed to score from the penalty spot.

Later in the 38th minute, the ball reached Messi during an Argentine attack and he scored.

This goal later proved to be the most important moment of the match, but with it, a discussion on the referee and VAR decision also started on social media.

Although the controversy remains in its place, the goal remains in the official record and the new record in World Cup history is still registered in the name of Lionel Messi.

Messi Argentina Austria FIFA World Cup 2026 Game Messi Record

Share: