Another controversial call in Saturday’s quarterfinals has some conspiracy-minded fans claiming the 2026 FIFA World Cup is rigged in Argentina’s favor. Those claims are unsubstantiated.
In the 72nd minute of Argentina’s 3-1 victory over Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, VAR (video assistant review) overturned a yellow card on Argentinian forward Leandro Paredes and ruled that forward Breel Embolo should instead be penalized for flopping. Embolo, who was already playing under a yellow card, then received a red card, forcing Switzerland to field 10 players instead of 11 for the rest of the match.
Swiss coach Murat Yakin said “the referee made the wrong decision” in a postgame news conference. Consider his take as a cry of sour grapes.
Former referee Andy Davies explains why Breel Embolo was red-carded
In a story published Sunday morning, ESPN contributor Davies explained the crew assessed the penalty using the “mistaken identity” rule. This allows officials to rescind a penalty on one player and pass it on to the other. VAR cannot recommend that an athlete be yellow-carded in normal circumstances, but when video evidence shows the wrong one has been punished, an on-field review is recommended so the call can be reversed.