The International Football Board (IFAB), the body governing world football law, confirmed that the VAR protocol related to "mistaken identity" was used improperly at the 2026 World Cup.
They emphasized that this regulation should not be used to punish diving acts - like the case of Breel Embolo of Switzerland being sent off in the match against Argentina.
Throughout the tournament in North America, especially in the knockout rounds, Lionel Messi and his teammates' journey to the final is always accompanied by smoldering conspiracy theories.
Egyptian national team coach Hossam Hassan complained after the controversial defeat in the round of 16: "It's all for money. They want Messi to stay in the league. In football, many things happen off the field for economic benefits.
The Swiss team was also in a similar situation when Embolo was shown a second yellow card for diving after the referee consulted VAR in the quarter-final defeat against Argentina.
We were penalized for a rule that I find completely incomprehensible," coach Murat Yakin said angrily after his team was eliminated by a goal in extra time.
That decision was so difficult to understand that IFAB had to issue an update to ensure that this regulation was not interpreted in a similar way again.
In a notice sent on July 27, IFAB stated clearly:
A yellow card (warning) is not the second yellow card that can only be reviewed to determine the correct player who committed the foul and has been penalized; the offense itself cannot be reviewed or changed.
The application of the misidentity clause to handle diving behavior at the World Cup has been positively received and will be included in the detailed assessment of the VAR protocol announced in Notice No. 32. However, this clause is not allowed to be used for that purpose until the assessment process is completed”.
IFAB gave a belated explanation for one of the unpredictable consequences of a new rule at the World Cup. If they had acted faster, Embolo and Switzerland might not have suffered such injustice.
This ambiguity was warned right from the first match of the 2026 World Cup. US captain Tim Ream was initially shown a yellow card because Danny Makkelie claimed he fouled Miguel Almiron.
The Dutch referee then went to the screen outside the touchline to review and determined that the Paraguay striker had dived, so Ream's yellow card was transferred to Almiron.
As IFAB emphasized, this decision was "positively received" - but in principle it was completely wrong.
Reviewing the yellow card for identity confusion is not intended to give the referee a chance to replay the match. It is only used if the wrong person is penalized for the same foul. Ream is penalized for a foul, while Almiron is penalized for a dive - these are 2 completely different acts.
Maybe when officials meet again to review the law in the future, this regulation will change, but it was wrong throughout the 2026 World Cup.
However, that cannot help Switzerland at this time.
