Lionel Messi visiting the Kotel during a recent trip to Israel. The Arab world reacted very negatively to Messi choosing a "Jewish name" for his son. PHOTO: NRG.

Reports that soccer superstar Lionel Messi had chosen the name “Benjamin” for his yet unborn second son aroused anger in the Arab world over the Argentinian picking a “Jewish name” for the boy.

In Algeria specifically, people took the naming of the Barcelona player’s son very negatively. They expressed their hostility towards the athlete and his son’s chosen name saying that, “the name of Messi’s son is like the name of the Prime Minister of Israel,” Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s NRG reported.

Some of the protesters also voiced their hope that Messi would alter his decision and ultimately choose a different name for his son, according to the report.

Messi is a devout Christian and met with the Pope in 2013. His first son, Thiago, was born in November 2012.