During Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final clash between Argentina and Switzerland, the term “It’s completely not understandable,” took center stage in a highly controversial moment that left Swiss forward Breel Embolo in tears. The incident resulted in Switzerland being reduced to ten men for 67 minutes against the reigning champions.
Switzerland’s head coach, Murat Yakin, expressed his disbelief, stating, “I know that they will protect their referee but this rule destroyed the game today.” The red card followed a VAR review that transformed a previously dull match, as Switzerland had just equalized with a goal from Dan Ndoye in the 67th minute.
The pivotal incident occurred when Argentina’s Leandro Paredes challenged Embolo, seemingly making contact as the forward surged forward. Initially, referee João Pinheiro issued a yellow card to Paredes for the foul, but after a review, the decision was reversed.
Yakin remarked, “First of all, there was definitely no reason to award that yellow card,” Remo Freuler, a midfielder for Switzerland, added, “I don’t understand it, it was a harmless situation.”
The VAR, led by Guillermo Pacheco Larios, suggested a review for mistaken identity, indicating that Embolo had simulated the foul rather than being the victim. This change escalated the situation, leading to Embolo’s second yellow card and ejection from the game, having already received a yellow for a foul on Paredes earlier.
Yakin commented, “I don’t know what the referee is doing here. I don’t understand why they call him for a situation like this because there are many fouls [like this] in the first half. Maybe he has to call them for yellow card too.” reflecting on the impact of the decision. Freuler echoed this sentiment, stating, “It was decisive for the entire outcome of the match,”
The announcement of the decision incited a strong reaction from the Switzerland bench, igniting celebrations among the largely pro-Argentina crowd. Embolo, visibly distraught, had to be escorted off the field, as he broke down in tears.
Yakin shared, “I don’t understand how can VAR change a game with this situation. Just let the referee do this thing, you know?”
The concept of mistaken identity has been a recognized reason for VAR intervention since its inception, yet it has traditionally been limited to clear cases of a referee mistakenly penalizing the wrong player. This World Cup saw a change, as the International Football Association Board broadened the definition to include situations where a card is issued to a player for an offense committed by an opponent.
Yakin admitted he was unaware of this rule modification prior to the match but continued to criticize its application. “You can imagine how he’s doing,”
This incident marks the second time the mistaken identity rule has been applied in this manner during the World Cup, the first occurring in the United States’ opening match against Paraguay. In that case, the referee rescinded a yellow card issued to Tim Ream after VAR determined that Paraguay’s Miguel Almirón had dived.
Given the high stakes of the match, Saturday’s decision will face intense scrutiny. Switzerland was forced to play the remainder of the match with ten players, ultimately conceding two goals in a nine-minute span, leading to their exit from the tournament.
