One of the biggest talking points from Argentina’s 3-1 extra-time victory over Switzerland was the dismissal of Breel Embolo, an incident that highlighted FIFA’s new VAR protocol introduced for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Swiss striker became one of the first players to be sent off under the competition’s expanded “mistaken identity” review process, a new protocol that allows VAR to intervene when a player has been incorrectly shown a yellow card.
Before this World Cup, VAR could only intervene in yellow-card situations if there had been a clear error involving a second caution that resulted in a dismissal. However, FIFA has expanded the protocol for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, allowing video officials to review situations where the wrong player has been cautioned or where a yellow card has been incorrectly awarded.
The controversial incident occurred in the 72nd minute. Breel Embolo went to ground inside the Argentine penalty area following an apparent challenge from Leandro Paredes. Portuguese referee João Pinheiro immediately cautioned Paredes for the challenge.
However, the VAR team identified a possible case of mistaken identity and advised Pinheiro to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor.
After examining the replay, the referee concluded that there had been no contact from Paredes and that Embolo had instead simulated the foul in an attempt to win a penalty. Pinheiro therefore rescinded Paredes’ yellow card and instead cautioned Embolo for simulation.
Because the Swiss forward had already been booked earlier in the match, the second yellow card automatically resulted in his dismissal, leaving Switzerland to play the remaining minutes of normal time and the entirety of extra time with ten men.
The dismissal proved decisive. Argentina eventually broke Switzerland’s resistance in the 112th minute through Julián Álvarez before Lautaro Martínez sealed a 3-1 victory in stoppage time of extra time to send the reigning world champions into the semi-finals.
Swiss head coach Murat Yakin criticised the application of the new protocol after the match. “If Paredes had not been booked, VAR would never have intervened over Embolo’s simulation,” Yakin said. “They could simply have allowed play to continue without giving any foul or yellow card. We were punished by a rule that I find unacceptable. I don’t understand it. Bringing VAR into a situation like this was unnecessary and damaging. This rule has nothing to do with football.” The Embolo incident was not the first use of FIFA’s new “mistaken identity” protocol during the tournament.
Earlier in the competition, during the group-stage match between the United States and Paraguay, referee Ivan Barton withdrew a yellow card shown to American defender Tim Ream after a VAR review established that Paraguay’s Miguel Almirón had simulated the challenge. The caution was subsequently transferred to Almirón.
FIFA introduced the expanded review process to ensure greater disciplinary accuracy, arguing that a player should not suffer the consequences of an incorrect yellow card simply because the mistake falls outside traditional VAR reviewable incidents.
The Embolo decision, however, has already become one of the tournament’s most controversial refereeing moments, with Switzerland believing the expanded protocol ultimately changed the course of their World Cup quarter-final.
