Paraguayan midfielder Matías Galarza scored a winning goal against Turkey in the early hours of Saturday. But that’s not the part that has everyone talking.
Late in the first half, a scuffle broke out between players from both teams. Referee Ivan Barton, from El Salvador, waded in to separate them. Somewhere in the chaos, his watch got knocked off his wrist and fell onto the grass.
Galarza spotted it lying there. He picked it up. Then he did something that felt more like a prank than a professional soccer moment — he strapped it onto his own wrist.
Photos show him adjusting the watch on his arm, seemingly in no hurry to hand it back. The referee eventually got it back and was seen wearing it in the second half. No harm, no foul, but the imagery is going to live on as one of those weird World Cup moments nobody planned.
How the watch chase actually happened
The sequence unfolded fast. During a heated clash near the end of the first half, Barton’s watch popped off and hit the pitch. Galarza, who had already scored the opening goal in the early minutes, noticed the device on the turf. He scooped it up, and with a straight face, put it on his own wrist like he was trying it out at a mall kiosk.
There’s no video evidence of malice. It looks more like spontaneous goofing off than anything sinister. But the internet, of course, had a field day. Fans on social media joked about Galarza “collecting souvenirs” and “getting a new sponsor mid-game.”
The bigger picture for Paraguay and Galarza
Galarza’s goal in the opening minutes set the tone for Paraguay. The win against Turkey is significant in group play, and his name was already going to be in the headlines. Now it’s for two reasons.
At 23, Galarza is still building his reputation on the international stage. Moments like this — the kind that make highlight reels and meme feeds — can either define a player as a character or just a footnote. For now, he’s both a goal scorer and a watch thief. That’s not a bad combo for a tournament that thrives on personality.
Barton, for his part, didn’t seem fazed. He wore the watch again after halftime, and no official statement has been made by FIFA or CONMEBOL about any disciplinary action. Which makes sense. It’s hard to punish a guy for turning a dropped object into a bit.
By the final whistle, the moment felt more like a trivia question than a controversy. But it’s the kind of detail that sticks. Ten years from now, someone will mention the Paraguay-Turkey game and all anyone will remember is the referee’s watch going for a joyride on a player’s wrist.
Leave a Comment