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What is going on?
The unprecedented refereeing incident between Argentina and Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup has sparked widespread debate over whether the Video Assistant Technology (VAR) intervention to send off Switzerland striker Brielle Embolo was a “courtesy” to Argentina, after Portuguese referee Argentina Joai was awarded a penalty. Paredes returned it to Embolo, sending him off the field in the 72nd minute to tie the score 1-1.
Embolo left the pitch in Kansas City in tears, surrounded by his teammates who tried to console him, in an emotional scene that reflected the extent of the Swiss player’s shock after his dismissal.
The controversial incident began in the 69th minute when referee Pinheiro booked Paredes for a foul on Embolo, but the VAR room suddenly intervened to quickly warn that the wrong player had been booked, prompting the referee to turn to the screen to review the incident.
After reviewing the replay, Pinheiro made a shock decision to overturn Paredes’ caution, ruling that Embolo had feigned a fall and feigned a foul, handing him a second yellow card after the previous caution he had received in the 44th minute, which led to his automatic red card. the attackers.
Why does the mouse enter?
After receiving two yellow cards, the Portuguese referee Joao Pineiro showed a red card to the Swiss star Brielle Embolo. The decision was made after using video technology (72).#WorldCup2026 pic.twitter.com/JfiPScxWGJ
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) July 12, 2026
The VAR’s sudden intervention raises questions about the real motivations for this decision, especially since second yellow cards are not normally subject to VAR review and technology cannot recommend a dismissal in the event of a second yellow card.
But the door opened in this incident was the door of “misidentification” where the card was shown to the wrong player, and this assumption allows the referee to correct the card and redistribute it to the correct player, according to international law, which stipulates that “VAR” can only intervene in 4 cases: goal or not, penalty, straight red card and penalized player.
“Politics” or law enforcement?
While the decision was technically legal, the timing and circumstances surrounding it have led to widespread doubt as to whether it was “courtesy” for Argentina, especially as the incident came at a crucial time and the score was level, and Paredes avoided a yellow card and Embolo paid a heavy price for the sending off.
In short, if Pinheiro Paredes had not been booked in the first place, VAR would not have been able to intervene, but by giving him the wrong card, the procedure that ended Embolo’s game was open to review and decisively affected the course of the game, which ended in victory for Argentina, with goals from Mac Allister and Ndoye.
