{"id":108891,"date":"2026-07-28T11:09:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T11:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/108891\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T11:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T11:09:11","slug":"soccer-rules-panel-clarifies-var-process-that-world-cup-red-card-was-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/108891\/","title":{"rendered":"Soccer rules panel clarifies VAR process that World Cup red card was wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

GENEVA (AP) \u2014 Soccer\u2019s law-making panel clarified its guidance<\/a> to referees which confirmed Switzerland forward Breel Embolo should not have been sent off in the World Cup quarterfinals<\/a> against Argentina.<\/p>\n

Embolo\u2019s second yellow card, after a video review for simulating being fouled, changed the momentum of the game in the 72nd minute soon after Switzerland tied the score at 1-1. <\/p>\n

Argentina won 3-1 in extra time<\/a> with help from the red-card decision that fueled complaints, including from previous opponent Egypt<\/a>, referees were favoring Lionel Messi\u2019s team with decisions.<\/p>\n

The FIFA-backed rules panel known as IFAB published a clarification Monday that VAR protocol for \u201cmistaken identity\u201d cases was not eligible for that type of incident at the World Cup, though it could be in future competitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, it may not be used as such until that review is concluded,\u201d the Zurich-based IFAB said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Embolo fell to the ground on being challenged by Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes, who was shown a yellow card.<\/p>\n

The VAR officials alerted the referee to the fact Paredes did not commit a foul and instead Embolo was shown a yellow, his second, and was sent off.<\/p>\n

That is not how \u201cmistaken Identity\u201d is currently meant to be applied, which is to correct the referee when a card is shown to the wrong player who did not commit the original foul penalized.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe referee made the wrong decision,\u201d Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said after the game in Kansas City. \u201cI know they will protect their referee but this rule destroyed our game today, and it\u2019s very painful, and to be eliminated in that way hurts a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

IFAB clarified the card \u201ccan only be reviewed to identify the player who committed the offense that was penalized; the offense itself cannot be reviewed\/changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Updating the VAR protocol<\/p>\n

A review of VAR protocol<\/a> has been ongoing since March and IFAB acknowledged that incidents like Embolo\u2019s are part of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe use of the mistaken identity clause to deal with simulation during the FIFA World Cup 2026 was well received,\u201d the Zurich-based group said.<\/p>\n

IFAB is composed of FIFA-appointed officials and the four British soccer federations. Its annual meeting is each February or March to update The Laws of the Game that take effect for major tournaments or the next season.<\/p>\n

European soccer wants lighter touch VAR<\/p>\n

The IFAB clarity was praised as \u201cwelcome explanations\u201d on Tuesday by UEFA, which has hosted referee bosses from each of its 55 member federations to reset their decision-making principles for the new season.<\/p>\n

\u201cVAR is not meant to re-referee the game,\u201d UEFA stressed, stating the need for shorter video reviews and a lighter touch for intervening.<\/p>\n

FIFA\u2019s overall VAR strategy for the World Cup was praised following a frustrating season of video reviews<\/a>, particularly in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

\u201cLengthy, microscoping reviews are often a symptom revealing that the decision on the field was not clearly and obviously incorrect, and should therefore be limited,\u201d UEFA said, setting a standard for intervention at \u201cwhen a referee decision is blatantly incorrect or when the referee has missed a clear incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

UEFA also encouraged the crackdown on time-wasting in games agreed by IFAB in March and enforced by FIFA at the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cReferees will be instructed to strictly and consistently enforce the new rules,\u201d said UEFA.<\/p>\n

UEFA will this season organize men\u2019s and women\u2019s club competitions including the Champions League, plus national-team games in the men\u2019s Nations League and qualifying for the 2028 European Championship, and qualifying playoffs for the 2027 Women\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n

___ AP soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/a> and AP World Cup coverage<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GENEVA (AP) \u2014 Soccer\u2019s law-making panel clarified its guidance to referees which confirmed Switzerland forward Breel Embolo should…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[1680,49526,23391,50359,38365,2019,307,33915,17,20691,51],"class_list":["post-108891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-argentina","tag-argentina-national-soccer-team","tag-breel-embolo","tag-leandro-paredes","tag-lionel-messi","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-sports-officiating","tag-switzerland","tag-switzerland-national-soccer-team","tag-zurich"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116997296239786951","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}