Zinedine Zidane on the Lionel Messi red card controversy vs Algeria: 🗣️ “I have watched the incident involving Lionel Messi several times now, from different angles, and I honestly don't understand how some people are calling for a red card.” “Yes, there is contact. Nobody is denying that. But football is a contact sport, and not every collision automatically becomes a sending-off just because social media wants a bigger story.” “What disappoints me is that people are spending more time talking about one accidental moment than talking about the football masterpiece Messi produced over ninety minutes.” “A player scores a hat-trick, breaks records, dominates a World Cup match, and somehow the conversation becomes a challenge that lasted a few seconds. That tells you everything.” “For me, intent matters. Context matters. The speed of the action matters. And when I look at the incident, I see a football action, not a player trying to hurt an opponent.” “I think some people had already made up their minds before the replay was even shown. If that same incident involved another player, I don't believe we would still be discussing it hours later.” “The truth is simple: Messi didn't escape a red card. There was no red card to escape. The referee saw it, VAR checked it, and they reached the same conclusion.” “Instead of searching for controversy, maybe we should appreciate what we witnessed tonight one of the greatest players in football history delivering another unforgettable World Cup performance.”