Switzerland is out of the World Cup. And the way it happened has everyone talking about a red card that wasn’t really a red card — until VAR got involved.
Breel Embolo was sent off in the 72nd minute against Argentina. At the time, the score was 1-1. Dan Ndoye had just equalized for Switzerland five minutes earlier. Then came the moment that flipped the whole game.
Leandro Paredes went in for a tackle on Embolo near midfield. The referee initially gave Paredes a yellow card. But VAR took a longer look and saw something different: Embolo started falling before Paredes actually made contact. It was a dive. And since Embolo was already on a yellow card, the referee flipped the call. Embolo got a second yellow and was sent off. Switzerland played the rest of the match with ten men.
Alexi Lalas didn’t hold back on his podcast. “Breel Embolo got exactly what he deserved,” Lalas said. “He was already on a yellow card, and in this moment, he decided to tempt fate. He decided to speed, if I’m using my analogy, right? He got pulled over. He’s got no one to blame but himself.”
Lalas made a comparison that’s hard to argue with. People complain about diving in soccer all the time. They say the sport doesn’t do enough to punish it. Well, this time it did. Embolo tried to sell contact that wasn’t there, and it cost his team.
The Swiss were already fighting uphill against Argentina, and playing a man down for the last 18 minutes of regulation plus extra time was too much. They managed to force extra time, but Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez both scored in the extra period. Argentina won 3-1 and moved on to face England in the semifinals.
The Swiss coach wasn’t happy
Murat Yakin, Switzerland’s head coach, saw it differently. “There was definitely no reason to award a yellow card,” Yakin told the BBC. “It was a harmless situation. He should have let play continue. We were punished because of a rule that is unacceptable.”
Yakin kept going. “I don’t understand it. The fact that they intervened unnecessarily is extremely hurtful. It’s a rule that has nothing to do with football. It destroyed our game.”
Embolo was in tears as he walked off the pitch. His teammates tried to console him, but the damage was done. It’s the second time this tournament that a mistaken identity situation led to a card being upgraded after a VAR review. The first came in a USA game when Tim Ream was shown a yellow that later turned out to be a dive by Miguel Almiron.
Whether you think the rule is too harsh or just right, the result is the same. Embolo made a choice. He gambled. And he lost.
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