Argentina's hat-trick hero Lionel Messi should have been sent off in Tuesday's 3-0 World Cup win over Algeria, according to former Bundesliga referee Patrick Ittrich.
In the 31st minute, Messi kicked Aissa Mandi from behind on the calf and Achilles tendon.
"For me, that is a red card. We have various examples from the Bundesliga where that was punished with a red," Ittrich told broadcaster MagentaTV where he is working as a rules analyst.
"By the letter of the law, that is a red. If I had seen it like that on the pitch, I would have shown red. If the referee had shown red, it definitely would not have been overturned."
The video assistant referee did not intervene after Polish referee Szymon Marciniak settled for a warning.
The Argentina captain equalled Germany's Miroslav Klose as the top men's World Cup scorer with 16 goals thanks to his treble in Kansas City.
