Archivo VAR: Embolo's sending-off was correct, and the IFAB statement was misinterpreted

FIFA have weighed in on the storm surrounding Breel Embolo's dismissal in Argentina's quarter-final clash with Switzerland at the 2026 World Cup, confirming the decision was correct and consistent with the guidelines used throughout the tournament.

The row erupted after "Circular No. 34", issued by the International Football Association Board "IFAB". The media read it as an admission that sending off the Switzerland forward had been a mistake. In truth, the board was amending and clarifying the rule rather than correcting a refereeing error from the World Cup, according to Spanish refereeing specialist site "Archivo VAR".

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Throughout the World Cup, the protocol allowed officials to review cases of "mistaken identity". That let the referee cancel the card first shown to Argentina's Leandro Paredes after a phantom foul, then transfer the punishment to Embolo once it emerged that he had dived on purpose.

Only after the tournament did the amendment arrive to close the loophole. Now the foul itself cannot be reviewed, and officials can correct only the identity of the player who received the card. Applying the World Cup guidelines does not become an error simply because the rule changed later, "Archivo VAR" argue.

Crucially, Embolo did deserve the yellow for the dive, and he was already on a booking. He would have walked in any case had the rules been applied correctly.

The first mistake in the sequence actually went against Argentina. The referee gave a non-existent foul against Paredes and booked him, before stepping in to reverse the call and punish the player who had really committed the offence.

FIFA confirmed the final decision "restored justice". They also explained they had been in contact with "IFAB" throughout the process, and that the board had approved the interpretation used during the tournament.

Circular No. 34, then, was no condemnation of Embolo's dismissal, and FIFA's statement marked no reversal. The amendment simply clarified the rule for the future.

"A correct sending-off"

As for the claim that Switzerland were robbed by Embolo's red, it misses the point entirely: the player deserved to go in the first place, and the real error would have been to let him stay on the pitch after cheating, according to the Spanish website.

A similar incident cropped up during the Paraguay v USA group-stage match. There, Paraguay's Miguel Almirón was also cautioned for trying to deceive the referee.