Lionel Messi’s record-breaking World Cup should not have stood, according to a BBC pundit.
Messi scored his 17th goal of the tournament in his 28th appearance against Austria, guiding the ball in with his left foot after a low cross into the box.
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However, Fox pundit and former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel believes the goal ought not to have been allowed.
The Danish legend, who earned 129 caps for his country, said referee Amin Mohamed Omar failed to spot an off-the-ball foul in the build-up, involving Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister and RB Leipzig’s Xaver Schlager.
Speaking on Fox Sports at half-time, the 62-year-old stated: “I don’t think that goal should have stood.
RIGGED 🚨🚨 It’s a cleaaar foul by Mac Allister before the goal !!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/owmUlna6XS
— MrX (@MrXzz7) June 22, 2026
“Think about how they get the penalty, this is a kick from behind through Xaver Schlager.
“This is a free-kick, Mac Allister has kicked the player down. That should have been a free-kick.
“Var should have taken that back. That is a clear and obvious mistake by the referee.”
An angry Schmeichel added: “And for that I feel a little bit frustrated.”
Fans online were equally outraged by the decision, with one commenting: “Fifa is corrupt. Tell me why there is not a single video of the foul on that Austrian player leading to that Messi Goal? No var nothing. Scam.”
A second said: “Is FIFA really trying to give Argentina favours? That was a bad foul on an Austrian player before it led to Argentina scoring. Last game Messi did a bad foul as well which should have been a red card. What’s going on here?”
A third added: “So there was a clear foul committed by Argentina before the Messi goal?”
Another wrote: “CLEAR FOUL Leading up to that Messi goal, it’s actually disgusting at this point.”
Despite the complaints from the former goalkeeper and fans, the goal stood, and Messi’s name now sits at the top of the World Cup goalscorers list.
He later extended his record with a second goal in stoppage time, taking him to 18 goals overall and five in this World Cup.
