Switzerland’s Breel Embolo turned the primary participant to be despatched off after a VAR overview within the final World Cup quarterfinal.
Revealed On 12 Jul 2026
The World Cup has seen its first “mistaken identification” purple card, with Switzerland’s Breel Embolo sent off in his team’s quarterfinal against Argentina in Kansas City.
Embolo turned the primary participant to be penalised for mistaken identification when he was dismissed within the 72nd minute of the match on Saturday.
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All of it started when Argentina’s Leandro Paredes was given a yellow card for a foul on Embolo, however the determination was reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) within the 71st minute.
Play resumed however was halted as soon as once more when a VAR overview was referred to as, and the choice was not solely reversed, however Embolo was proven his second yellow of the match for mistaken identification and despatched off by match referee Joao Pedro Silva Pinheiro.
Why was Embolo proven a VAR mistaken identification yellow card?
The 29-year-old was deemed to have dived whereas in a deal with with Paredes, however the on-field referee ostensibly didn’t see this and penalised the Argentinian at first.
Nonetheless, the VAR workforce – which works from a distant location – picked up on the incident and referred to as for a overview. As soon as referee Pinheiro noticed the replays and consulted with the VAR workforce, he returned to the pitch to rescind Paredes’s yellow and brandish one for Embolo as an alternative.
The Swiss ahead was strolling a tightrope with a pre-existing reserving and was despatched off within the 72nd minute with the scores degree.
How did Switzerland react to the reserving?
The Swiss gamers and the bench remonstrated with the referee however to no avail. They had been sad with the choice, however most specialists and impartial observers agreed that the choice was appropriate.
Embolo was in tears and was consoled by his teammates as he trudged off.
What’s a mistaken identification determination?
Mistaken identification has been termed a “match-changing” error by the Worldwide Soccer Affiliation Board (IFAB), a global physique that manages the legal guidelines of soccer.
In line with its description, mistaken identification is “when the referee exhibits a yellow or purple card however has clearly penalised the flawed participant of both workforce for the offence in query”.
The brand new VAR guidelines within the sport permit mistaken identification points to be picked up and reviewed by the VAR workforce.
How did Embolo’s card have an effect on the match?
Up till Embolo’s reserving, the match was evenly poised when it comes to management in addition to the scoreline, which stood at 1-1 with lower than 20 minutes to go till full-time.
Whereas Switzerland held on to the rating till the tip of regular time, they ultimately paid the value of being a person down by conceding two objectives in additional time and had been eradicated.
